Legends
by Wizards-Pupil
Summary: Ten years after the end of the Second Wizarding War and Umbridge has escaped from Azkaban with the intent of getting revenge on everyone who defied her while she taught at Hogwarts. Add a bunch of mischievous kids and you get a crazy house. Sequel to F-B
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Okay, a little heads up to anyone reading this that hasn't read the one before this, Forbidden Bond. This story takes place ten years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Hermione saved Fred by using an illegal spell that made them bonded. Shortly after the battle, the Ministry instituted a marriage law that forced everyone of age to marry within a month. Hermione married Fred, Harry married Ginny, Ron married Luna, and George married Verity. Pretty much everything else you need to know is already explained in the story. Thanks and hope you enjoy!_

"Are the little beasties in bed?" Fred's voice asked over my shoulder. I gave a small shiver and nodded my head. We had been married for ten years and the sound of his voice in my ear still caused me to feel like a silly school girl with a crush. One look from his blue eyes and my knees would grow shaky while my legs seemed to melt.

It was wonderful.

Fred grabbed me around the waist and dragged me towards the door. He was bubbling with excitement and I found myself momentarily worried. It was never good when he was this excited- it usually meant some sort of prank. Not that he could actually prank me though, our bond made that nearly impossible. He always got so excited about pranking that he couldn't hide it and I could feel it radiating through our bond like a warning flag.

Today, or tonight I guess, was our ten year anniversary. I had finally gotten all five of our kids to bed and was looking forward to some alone time with my husband. George and Verity were in the flat downstairs and they had both agreed to keep an eye on the kids for us. We were planning on visiting the safe house for the night. The same house that he had taken me to when we were engaged, the one that we had had to hide out in because the ministry was after us. It was Fred's idea to go back, and it was one that I found terribly romantic.

He led me outside the flat to the balcony that overlooked Diagon Alley. I gave him a quizzical look until I saw the broom leaning against the railing.

Flying.

I hated flying by myself- I have a terrible fear of heights. The only way I can ever fly is with Fred. I'd flown at other times because I'd had to for Harry, but Fred was the only thing that could get me to fly now. He made flying fun actually. I never felt scared when I was with him. He'd hold my waist and pull me into him, steering the broom with one hand.

I climbed onto it first, pulling my shawl closer around my shoulders. I had neglected to wear robes tonight, going with a muggle dress instead. It was a black halter top with a knee length skirt that flared wonderfully when one twirled.

Fred climbed on behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I leaned back and snuggled my head against him, turning so my cheek was resting against his firm chest. He gripped the broom handle and we lifted up and off. He cast a warming charm on us so that we wouldn't get cold as we flew and we headed off into the dark night. We left the bustle of the city, heading off towards the quiet country, the only light coming from the stars in the sky.

I still had no idea where this cabin was. I actually preferred it that way, it made it more special and mysterious. I snuggled into my husband, loving the warmth he seemed to emanate. I found comfort in hearing the quiet hum of his thoughts and I found myself lulling to sleep. It was a three hour flight to the cabin, so it's not like I couldn't take a quick catnap.

Besides, I wanted to be well awake for tonight.

So, what seemed like mere minutes, but was in fact hours later, we arrived at the cabin. It was snowing softly and it made the cabin look like something you'd see on the cover of a Christmas card, adorable and romantic.

We walked into the quiet cabin and quickly lit a fire. I spread a table cloth on the floor and opened my beaded bag, the same one I'd used on our Horcrux hunt so many years ago, and pulled out our dinner. It was steak and potatoes, one of Fred's favorite meals. We sat on the floor, me leaning into him, and both of us leaning on our arms and began to eat. Fred had somehow gotten music to play, and I recognized the tunes from our wedding.

We ate the food quickly, snuggling up together and wrapping a blanket around us before eating dessert. Chocolate covered strawberries. Our daughter, Rose, was allergic to them so we scarcely ever had them at the house, but we'd always eat them when we went on dates.

The strawberries were delicious, but I wanted something more satisfying. I could sense Fred felt the same way, as I was starting to get a definite feelings of desire from our bond. I shifted under the covers and turned around so I was straddling his lap. His eyes darkened with desire as I slowly began to place open mouthed kisses at his throat. He moaned at my touch and I started to kiss a trail up higher. He moaned louder when I kissed a particularly sensitive spot right under his ear and he grasped my waist, pulling me flush against him and capturing my lips in a heated, wonderful kiss.

He gently lowered me to the ground and kissed me hungrily. I responded in like, pulling on his shirt in an attempt to get it off.

_So beautiful, I've missed you 'Mione._ His thoughts were low and husky, and they made my body feel as though it had been lit on fire. I finally got his blasted shirt off and I ran my hands down his chest, needing to feel all of him. He began to grasp at my dress and tugged it up, gripping my bare waist in his warm hands as he continued to push it up.

_Love you. _I thought as he kissed my neck. I moaned out and ran my hands through his long locks.

_Love you, need you._ He thought back quickly. I reached for his belt and undid it, loving the feeling of warmth that had overwhelmed my body at his touch.

"Fred, Hermione!"

We broke apart with a loud scream from me. Fred threw a blanket over me as he shot up, looking around for the voice that was unmistakably Harry.

I looked behind me as I gripped the blanket to me and saw the familiar Stag walk towards us from the middle of the room.

My first instinct was terror- the children, had something happened to the children? Fred felt the same fear and grabbed me to him in a protective hug.

The stag opened his mouth and Harry's voice poured from it.

"News from the ministry. Umbridge has broken out of Azkaban. You need to come to Grimauld place pronto! Bring the children with you, I'll explain more lately." The stag closed his mouth and then bounded out the window.

I turned my head and stared at Fred in shock. He looked winded for a moment before he grabbed my dress and handed it back to me.

"Guess that ends our anniversary night." He sounded sad, but mostly worried. I quickly donned the dress while he pulled his shirt back on. We grabbed our wands and the broom and apparated back to the apartment.

Fred woke the twins while I woke Rose and Winifred. Once I got them up and into their night robes I woke up little Gideon. He was the youngest, barely two. We met back in the living room. Rose and Winifred were practically asleep, not aware of what was going on. Castor and Pollux were the exact opposite; they were awake, and worried.

"What's going on Mum? Dad will not say anything." They said together. I shook my head and helped them into their robes.

"Don't worry Torry and Lux, we're going to visit Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny." I said in as chipper a tone as I could; balancing Gideon on my hip while I tried to get Torry's arm through his sleeve. Fred had picked up both Rose and Winnie and was trying to grab hold of Lux's hand, but he kept moving. He finally snagged it and I grabbed Torry's hand. He had grabbed hold of Crookshanks with his other hand and the cat was meowing in clear annoyance.

_Let's go. _I thought to Fred. He nodded his head before looking worried.

_George._ Was his one word thought. Oh dear, should we warn them? Wait, Harry would have gotten them.

_Harry will have warned them._ I thought as reassuringly as I could. He nodded his head but looked worried none the less.

"Daddy, I'm sleepy, what's going on?" Rose asked, rubbing her eye with one tiny fist. She was seven years old, but right now she looked half that. Her eyes were barely opened and her head was leaning against Fred. He gave her a kiss on the top of her head before looking at me. We twisted together and apparated to Grimmauld place.

We landed on steady feet and slowly set our children down. Torry and Lucky ran up the stairs with Crookshanks in tow, in search of James and Teddy no doubt. I gripped Gideon tightly to me as Rose and Winnie slowly made their way upstairs looking for Lilly's room. It was amazing how well they seemed to know where there cousins would be despite having never been here before. I heard a noise coming from the dining room and I turned to see Harry open the door. I was oddly reminded off our earlier days in Hogwarts when we used to try and sneak in on Order meetings. I could see the long table behind him, covered with red head people, but I couldn't quite make out who was who.

Mrs. Weasley pushed her way past Harry, who just smiled, and grabbed Gideon from me with a look of pure grandmotherly love.

"Come here my little dear, I'll take you upstairs to bed." She pulled him to her chest and gave me a bright smile. "I'm helping everyone get settled in for the night, and then I'm going back to the Burrow. Everyone else is already here, they're waiting for you in the dining room." She said as she headed upstairs. I looked at Fred who just shook his head and smiled, laying his arm gently across my shoulders as we walked towards the door.

She was right, the rest of the family was already here, Ron, George, Ginny, Luna, Verity, and of course, Harry. There were also two extra faces, ones that were more than welcome, Neville and Hannah Longbottom.

We sat in between George and Ginny, giving each of them an inquisitive stare, they just shook their heads.

Harry closed the door and sat down at the head of the table, Ginny on his right and Ron on his left.

"Thanks for getting here so fast guys." Harry said softly, looking at us each in turn. He laid his arms on the desk and steepled his fingers together, his face turning emotionless as he turned into the professional Auror.

"As I told each of you, Umbridge has broken out of Azkaban, we've no idea as to how at this point. You're all aware that only one person has ever done that, and he was an animagus. We don't think Umbridge is one, but it's still a possibility.

However, the reason I've called each of you here is that she didn't leave Azkaban empty. She left a very clear message stating that she felt we, yes, all of us, were the reason for her imprisonment." His eyes drifted to Fred and George. "You two she felt were the ones that undermined her authority with your escape, she has apparently gotten quite bitter about it." He eyed the rest of us, before continuing. "The rest of use she is mad at for the whole DA thing. We all were either in that room when I got caught using her floo, or we're married to someone who was." He let that sink in before he continued. "She has stated that she will seek her revenge on us with a weapon that will make Voldmort's Horcruxs' look like child's play. We've moved all your families here because this house is still protected by the Fidelus charm, and it has the best protections the ministry can give."

My mind had frozen somewhere back with the words Umbridge has broken out. Fred's mind was going a mile a minute, which use to distract me and cause me to panic. Now though I found it comforting, and it actually helped calm me down. I reached over to him and grasped his hands, surrounding his thoughts with a calming cocoon of thoughts as I squeezed his hand. He took a breath and sent me a wave of thanks.

"So you're saying Umbridge has broken free and wants revenge on us?" Neville said, recovering fastest. His face had gone hard and his back was straight. I could see the cold calculating glare in his eye as he allowed the façade of Auror, and leader of the 2nd DA to take over. None of us had ever given him much credit while we had been at Hogwarts, but he had more than shown his worth while we were gone. He had risen up, taken control of the DA and not only taught the students of Hogwarts how to fight, he'd given most of them the strength they needed to come out of the last battle alive.

Harry nodded his head and locked eyes with Neville. "Yes, she wants to kill us all, and our kids."

_A/N: Okay guys, here is the first chapter. I'll have some chapters in the view points of the kids as well, but this will mostly be a Fred/Hermione story._

_These are all their kids._

_Fred+Hermion= Castor and Pollux (boys age nine), Rose (girl, age 7), Winnifred (girl age 5), Gideon (Boy age 2) (They're named Castor and Pollux because that's the name of the two twins in the constelation Gimini. They go by Torry and Lux for short.)_

_Ron+Luna= Aurora (gir 9l) Hugo (boy 5)_

_George+Verity= Alexa and Alex (girl and boy twins age nine), Fabian (boy age six), Jamie (Girl age 3)_

_Harry+Ginny= James (boy age 9), Albus (boy age 7), Lilly (girl age 5)_

_Neville+Hannah= Trevor (boy age 8 and No, I'm not having him name his son after the toad, it's his grandfather's name.), Anna (girl age 6), Cedric (boy age 4)_

_As always, reviews, questions, suggestions and ideas are more than welcome!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Forgot to do this last time.**

**Disclaimer: I am not J K Rowling, I do not own Harry Potter, no matter how hard I wish I did.**

No bond was needed to see the utter look of anger and hate that washed over everyone at the table. Some of the best fighters in the wizarding world were in this room. Umbridge had to be crazy if she thought she could hurt our children.

I use to think that Lilly and James Potter dying for their child, or Alice and Frank Longbottom going insane for theirs was a really incredible thing. Now I knew otherwise. For me, Fred, and probably everyone else in this room, it wouldn't even be a choice. I'd give up my life for my children, and any of theirs, with out a moment's thought or hesitation. There was no choice between my life or theirs, they'd win every time.

"Now, I've magically expanded this house so that we have twice as many rooms. We have a room set up for each of you, and separate ones for your children." Harry said once we all had processed his incredible news.

"I would strongly recommend you all stay here, not because I doubt your own abilities to protect your self and your children, but because of the reasons I listed before, and also because with all of us here she would not stand a chance of reaching our children."

"We've already added extra protective spells, and recast the ones Moody and Dumbledore placed." Ron added after Harry stopped.

I looked over at Fred and he caught my eyes. I felt a familiar pull at my mind as he read it quickly, I did the same to him. He felt pretty much the same as I did, that this really was the best choice. I trusted every one here with my life, and I knew they would all do what ever it took to save each of our children.

"We're in." Fred said aloud, though he never took his eyes off mine.

George spoke next, saying that they also agreed and would stay. Neville spoke last, staring at Hannah for a long moment before he spoke.

"We're in also." He smiled tensely, glancing back over at Harry. "It'll be fun for the kids too, they love hanging out with your kids."

I smiled softly, feeling the tension slowly leave my body. We'd survived worse, nothing would happen. It'd be okay.

"We may have trouble, Torry, Lux, James, Alex, Alexa, Aurora, and Trevor in the same house? We'll have more pranks going on than we'll know how to do deal with." I looked around at everyone smiling as I spoke, we all had michiveous kids. They had formed a new group of marauders, and threatened to make Fred and George look pale in comparison. Fred laughed along with George while the other parents gave a wary smile.

"We probably better watch our step when we head upstairs." Ron said wryly as he looked at the dining room door with worry. Luna smiled and grasped his hand.

We talked for a while longer, but not about Umbridge, we caught up with each other, even though we saw each other almost every day. It was near midnight by the time Fred and I announced we were retiring.

George grinned mischievously and wiggled his eyebrows. "That's right, were interrupting you're anniversary aren't we?" I blushed furiously at his comment while Fred grinned happily.

"Yep!" He said, completely unabashedly. I just pushed him out of the room as fast as I could. We walked up the stairs warily, keeping our eyes peeled for pranks. We were going to be spending the night in what had been my room.

We reached the top of the stairs and I had to fight a shiver. I always hated how cold it was in this house. Fred pulled me towards him as he opened our room. He was deliciously warm and seemed to push the chill away from me.

That was my Fred, he just emanated warmth and happiness.

The room hadn't changed much at all from the last time I had been in it. It was still grungy, and oddly depressing. The wallpaper was the same, but someone had put a beautiful quilt on the bed. It had patches from old Gryffindor robes on it, and what looked oddly like some of the oversized clothes Harry used to wear.

I smiled as I fingered it, remembering all the adventures we'd had with each different patch. Fred came up from behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning his head on my hair. I smiled and clasped his arms, leaning into his embrace.

I ran my hand along his, relishing his warmth. My hand brushed along the back of his, stopping when I felt the slightly raised scars.

Umbridge.

I opened my eyes and looked down at the familiar scars. "I will not make mischief." And "I will not break rules." That foul, loathsome, evil, little cockroach had done that to him. Forced him to cut a scar into his own hand by writing lines with his own precious blood. It made me wish I could go back in time and AK the woman. I hated few people on earth as much as I hated her.

She'd done that to so many people. Tortured them for terrible reason's, and then threatened them if they told what had happened. She made them scared to act, to do anything. She made Gryffindor's timid and worried to act out less someone else get hurt, and Ravenclaws were afraid to answer questions less she get mad. The Hufflepuffs were always tense because they felt like they were betraying their friends, but they couldn't do anything. It had truly been a hellish year, one that had led to desperate measures, and a lot of heartache. We'd made the DA sure, but even that had a betrayal. I gripped the hand in mine and pulled it up to my mouth, gently kissing each letter.

Fred, able to sense my thoughts and feelings, turned me around and pulled me into a tight hug. He then grabbed my right hand, the one that was marred with similar scars and kissed the words on it. "I will not speak out of turn." And "I will not break rules." I sniffled sadly as I stared at the hand.

"Some anniversary." I said, fighting tears. I couldn't believe it, twelve years later and that, that _woman _was still messing with my life. Fred grabbed me again and pulled me to him, catching me in a tender kiss.

He surrounded me with emotions of love, caring, tenderness, and happiness.

He deepened the kiss as I leaned up and into him._ Any anniversary is great! It's just another reminder that I really am married to you, that you really do love me._ He thought as he buried a hand in my hair. I raised my hand to his neck, sending thoughts of love right back to him.

He walked me backwards until my legs hit the bed, causing both of us to fall onto it. I lowered my hands from his neck and grabbed his shirt, tugging it back up and off. He broke the kiss just long enough for me to get it off. He moved his hand from my hair and laid it beside my head to brace himself.

The minute his hand touched the bed a click sounded and an explosion happened across the room. I screamed, Fred jumped up and turned around, wand out and pointed at the growing orange smoke cloud.

I was going to kill those kids tomorrow.

{}o{}o{}

I woke up the next morning warm and comfortable. I was lying on my side, closest to the door, with Fred lying behind me. He had an arm draped over my waist, and his other hand was buried under my pillow. My hand was also buried under the pillow, clasping his.

It had taken Fred five minutes to clear out the smoke, another five minutes for me to reprimand the twins, and then we'd returned to our room. Fred checked the rest of the room, and found it surprisingly trap free. Needless to say, we promptly picked up where we had left off.

Anyway, I woke up first as I always do and checked the clock.

It was seven, we probably should be getting up. Fred hated waking up early; I think all the males in this family did actually. I was a morning bird, and probably drove Fred crazy with my early perkiness. He was a night owl though so we evened each other out.

I let go of his hand and slowly moved out of his grasp. He shivered once I got up and looked cold, so I raised the quilt higher up and tucked it more securely around him. I gave him a quick kiss on the nose before I quietly got dressed. I then placed a small package for him where I had been sleeping and made my way out.

I walked down the stairs quickly, laughing softly when I noticed an obvious bump in the stairs carpet. Those kids didn't waste any time. I skipped the step all together and continued my trek downstairs prank free. I reached the dining room, noticing it was empty before continuing on to the kitchen. It was chilly as it always seemed to be in this house, so I set a pot of water to boiling and grabbed out four glasses.

I wasn't the only morning person in the house now. At least I wasn't if they hadn't changed from our school days.

Sure enough, the minute the water started boiling Ginny, Luna, and Neville walked into the kitchen, bright perky smiles on their faces. I handed them each a cup of the freshly made tea and set a plate of scones on the table. We all sat down and began to chat lightly about what we all planned on doing, how the kids were, how disbelieving we were that they only had one more year before Hogwarts , things like that.

We kept the conversation purposely light and upbeat, knowing we could talk seriously later when every one was up. Right now we just wanted to spend times as friends.

Harry was the first of the others up. He came down at eight, looking rather sleepy. He had never been much of a morning person, but he always tried to get up early.

"'Morning." He mumbled as I poured him a cup of tea. He accepted it and then sat down next to Ginny, grabbing a scone as he sat. Ten minutes later Hannah was downstairs, looking only a little tired. Verity was right behind her, looking rather perky for it to be so early. I got them both a cup and they sat down at the table with us, Hannah by Neville, and Verity beside Luna.

I didn't expect to see the other three boys any time soon. I knew from experience that it would take quite a lot to get any of them up. I was curious what our days were going to look like while we were holed up here. I was thinking most of the guys would go to work, all but Fred and George were Auror's, but I don't think that would keep Fred and George would stay at home. It'd take more than Umbridge to keep them from their shop. I also knew Hannah ran the Leaky Cauldron, so she'd probably head for there.

Luna, Ginny, Verity and I though all stayed at home with our kids. Well, Verity and I helped with the shop, and I worked on inventions, but since we lived where we worked, we were able to keep our kids. So we'd probably watch all the children. I did a quick mental count and realized that totaled seventen kids. All of which were under the age 11.

It got to be 8:40 and I knew I needed to wake up Fred. He and George always tried to open the joke shop by nine, so that left him twenty minutes to shower, dress, eat, and leave. I made my way upstairs, Verity right behind me and went to my room while she went to hers.

It was still quite dark, and rather cold in the room. I shivered as I shut the door and murmured a quick heating charm-not that it did much good against the chill. Fred was still snuggled up in the blankets and didn't look to have moved at all during my absence. I walked up to the bed and sat down beside him, reaching over and giving his arm a gentle shake.

_Wake up Freddy, it's morning!_ He grunted at my thought and sent back a sleepy, jumbled thought about staying in bed.

_None of that, you've got to open the joke shop. _He groaned at that but sat up none the less, rubbing his eyes as he did so.

"Alright, I'll get up." He shot me a mock glare before continuing. "Must you be so chipper in the morning?" he asked as he stretched. I nodded my head happily before grabbing the package I had left. I held it tightly while he swung his legs off the bed, standing up and turning so I was facing him.

"Here you go, Love! I never got a chance to give you my anniversary present." I said merrily as I handed him the box. His eyes got big and he grabbed it eagerly.

"Ooh! What'd ya get me?" He said excitedly as he gave it a tiny shake next to his ear. I laughed at his childish antics and shook my head.

"You can find out if you open it!" he smiled brightly and ripped the wrapping off of the box. He then began to peel off the tape I had wrapped the box in with an eager expression.

He pulled the three items out of the box, jumping in surprise when one of them disappeared. He picked up the object that was invisible and looked at it curiously.

I smiled and began to explain. "It's a modified extendable ear. I made it with a permanent disillusionment charm, and increased the hearing range. I also made it were you'll be able to see it, but only you." He grinned widely and I could feel his excitement, joy, and the fact that he was impressed, which just thrilled me.

"Wow! Thanks 'Mione!" he exclaimed, leaning over and grabbing me in a hug. I smiled and hugged him back. I felt warm in his arm and didn't want to let go. However, a minute later he let his arms drop as he went back to the rest of his present and I felt cold again. He picked up the other items and looked at them. They were tickets to Iron Man, it had come out last week, and Fred had wanted to see it. He grinned even wider at the sight of them and promptly hugged me again.

"There good for any showing you want, so we don't have to worry about leaving with Umbridge on the loose."

His smile widened even more and he looked at me with adoring eyes. Everything about him, his emotions, his thoughts, even his posture seemed to emanate love and happiness.

"Here you go 'Mione, I never got to give my present either." He whispered as he handed me a small box.

_A/N: Here's the second chapter :) __As always, reviews, questions, suggestions and ideas are more than welcome!_


	3. Chapter 3

I opened the little box eagerly, gasping when I saw the contents. It was a beautiful silver locket. The front had a beautiful etching of my favorite tree on it, and the inside had a frame in the shape of a teddy bear. A picture our entire family (I do mean entire, all the Weasley's, and that was now quite a lot of people, 36!) that expanded into a projection when I opened it. A lock of hair was in the right compartment, and I recognized it as Fred's shade.

"Oh!" I gasped out, pulling it to my chest in wonder. "It's beautiful Fred!" he smiled broadly at my excitement before leaning towards me to give me a quick kiss. Once he broke it I handed him the locket and lifted my hair. He gently clasped it around my neck, straightening it so it hung just above my breast. He smiled as he fingered the tree.

_I charmed it so you won't have to worry about it catching your hair._

That was so sweet and thoughtful that I didn't have any words for him. I just grabbed him in a kiss and pressed him back down onto the bed. He kissed me back feverishly and deepened the kiss.

Things were getting rather heated (George could open the shop) when I heard the door open.

"Mum?" I heard little Torry's voice and quickly grabbed a cover. I wrapped it around me like I had been cold and looked over at my son who was just walking in the doorway.

"Yes honey?" _Why do they never knock?_ Fred thought. _I always knocked before entering my parents room._

_Really?_ I thought back disbelievingly. He chuckled silently before regaining his composure and staring at our son, straightening his very rumpled shirt.

Torry eyed us suspiciously, no doubt noticing Fred's quiet laugh. I had a quick conversation with Fred about continuing our fun later and Torry stared at us even harder as Fred caused me to blush with some of his, urm, suggestive thoughts.

"How long are we planning on staying at this residence?" Torry finally asked. I heard Lux ask something from behind the door and Torry continued. "Not that we do not like it here."

Fred answered for me. "Probably for a while. Uncle Harry and us have some business we need to attend to together-it's nothing for you to worry about." He was completely at ease and amazingly convincing. I leaned forward in my seat and smiled at my son.

"Why don't you go downstairs and get some breakfast? Aunt Luna will fix you some hot chocolate!" He got a big grin and nodded his head. He loved chocolate just as much as I did.

Fred grinned at his retreating back before turning back to me. I was standing, fixing my clothing and pulling my hair back. He frowned pathetically and looked like Winnie when I tell her she can't have a lollipop.

_Play time over?_ He thought sadly. I nodded my head smiling softly.

_We can resume later._

With that thought I sauntered out of the room, swinging my hips as I walked.

_Not nice 'Mione!_ He thought as I left the room.

{}o{}o{}Castor "Torry" Weasley's View{}o{}o{}

"Have you guys explored the upstairs yet?" James asked as he ran into the room. I was playing with Winnie in an attempt to get her to stop crying about the fact that she had lost her dolly. I looked up at my cousin and shook my head. Lux and I had not had a chance to do much exploring; we had been too busy trying to figure out what was going on.

I felt Lux stir beside me and I looked over to see him get an evil grin. I felt his excitement as I stood up, straightening my robe.

"That sounds like a splendid proposition my good cousin." I said straightening my glasses as Lux stood up beside me. James grinned widely before looking around the room.

"Hey," He said, looking back at us. "Where are Alexa and Alex?" I felt Lux move and point to the kitchen.

"They went to get some juice. They are planning a prank on Mum and Rose only promised not to tell on them if they got her a snack." He explained.

"They should be back in a moment." Lux nodded his head in agreement, his glasses falling down his nose as he did so. James grinned a toothy smile before glancing at the door behind us.

"Trevor?"  
"He is in hallway watching Cedric, Aunt Hannah had to use the loo." Lux answered. I nodded my head before answering what was undoubtedly going to be his next question.

"Aurora is in the library. She had a question for Kreacher and decided to look for him there as he usually is found in that room at this time of day in your house."

"So the whole gang will be able to come?" James said his blue eyes glinting wickedly. I nodded my head in agreement, feeling the familiar excitement from Lux.

"Absolutely!" We said together.

Alexa and Alex walked in from the kitchen carrying a tray of juice and biscuits, which they promptly gave to a smiling Rose before making their way over to us.

They grinned happily, brushing there strawberry blond hair away from their eyes.

"What's the plan?" They asked together. They were wearing matching teal robes, but both were covered with paint splatters. Alexa's mostly red and blue, and Alex's mostly green and orange.

"Exploring." Lux started.

"Pranking." I continued, feeding off Lux naturally.

"General mischief." James ended.

"Great!" Alexa piped, burying her hands in her robe pockets.

"Where are Trev and Aurora?" Alex questioned.

"Hallway." Lux said

"Library." I finished.

"Well," Alex said. "Let's go fetch them!" I smiled in agreement and the five of us left the room.

We made our way to the library first; Aurora would be the easier to recruit. We would have to wait for Aunt Hannah to get Trev.

She was sitting with a quill stuck up in her golden hair, her blue eyes bright as she read her book upside down. I probably never would get her, but I loved her just the same. She was really smart, crazy, but smart.

"Oh," She said airily as we all entered the library. "Are we going to get into trouble?"

Lux and I smiled, and said together, "Indubitably." She hopped off her chair and walked up to our group.

"Okay, what's our plan?"

"Exploring!" Alex and Alexa said together. James nodded his head and pointed upstairs.

"Ooh, that should be fun!" She said, her voice never losing its dreamy quality. The door to the library burst open and a plump black haired boy ran in, looking behind him worriedly.

"I escaped! Mum kept trying to get me to keep watching him. I finally told her I had to use the loo so I could get out." He grinned excitedly once he was finally convinced his mum was not coming to get him.

"Perfect!" James exclaimed. Even though Lux and I were actually the oldest, James always took the lead-he was just a natural leader. "Let's go explore!" He finished. He turned around and we all took off for the stairs. It was eleven o'clock and Mom, Aunt Ginny, Aunt Luna and Aunt Hannah would be starting on lunch or watching the little kids, so we could get away without getting caught. We wandered down the hall, past the rooms we knew till we reached one that looked like the door could use a fresh paint of coat. James pushed the door open and peered inside before we all pushed our way in.

The room was spacious with a large bed that had a carved headboard, a tall window with long velvet curtains, and a candle chandelier hanging from the roof. The walls of the room were covered with so many pictures that it was barely possible to see the wallpaper. I instantly recognized Gryffindor banners hanging on either side of the bed and I felt a small thrill at the sight of them. There were pictures of motorcycles and bikini-clad girls that had to be Muggle because they weren't moving. But the most interesting thing was the only moving picture in the room. There it had a picture of a blond scratched up, ragged teenager, a teenager that looked a lot like Uncle Harry, a handsome youth with long dark hair, and a shorter, lumpy boy with brown hair and big cheeks. They were waving happily at the camera and I found them oddly intriguing. Lux and I walked up to the picture at the same time, both with the same curious feeling.

James shouldered his way in between us and gapped at the picture.

"I know them!" He exclaimed. "That's Sirius!" He gasped.

"What's serious?" I questioned, slightly worried.

"No!" He exclaimed, sounding quite exasperated. "His name is Sirius." He then pointed to the first figure. "That's Lupin, that's Grandpa James, that's Sirius, and that's Pettigrew-at least I think that's him."

"I know Lupin and James, but who is Sirius?" I questioned. Lux nodded his head in agreement before pointing at the short teenager.

"And who is Pettigrew?"

"I'm not really sure. I think he was a friend of Lupin and Grandpa. He had to be someone important, other wise I wouldn't have been named after him" James said slowly, looking like he was thinking hard. I glanced back at the picture of the teenagers and tilted my head.

"You know." I said quietly. "I really do not know that much about my parents life." Lux nodded his head while Alexa and Alex looked thoughtful.

"I know what you mean." Aurora said softly. "My parents almost never talk about their young life."

"Yeah, I heard dad talking about some guy named Voldmort once but Mum made him hush when she saw me walk in the room." James said, staring at the photo with me.

"Ever noticed the way our parents talk to each other Torry?" Lux asked quietly. I nodded my head, still staring at the smiling teens.

"Yeah!" Alexa piped up. "They always seem to know what the others going to say without them even talking." She said, looking at Alex significantly.

"Precisely." I said quietly, walking up to the picture.

"I also do not believe mum and Dad have been entirely truthful about the reason we are all at this strange house." Lux spoke, turning from the picture to look at all of us.

"If we had wanted to meet each other we could have done so in the morning. We also would not have come to a house none of us had ever seen."

"Why do you think that is? Why don't they talk about their past?" Aurora asked no one in particular, her blue eyes growing distant.

"I've no idea, maybe there outlaws!" Trevor said excitedly, speaking up for the first time.

"Not likely. "Lux and I quickly replied. I smiled at him and let him know he could continue with a look. He smiled and explained, bubbling with excitement. "Uncle Harry would be unable to be head of the Auror's office if he was wanted. Also, Uncle Ron and Uncle Neville would not be able to act as Auror's either." Trevor's face deflated a little at the new, but he recovered quickly.

"Well I say we spend the rest of our time here figuring out what happened. We've got nothing else to do, and I want to know why my parents never talk about it."

I grinned at Lux and James, then as one every one said together, "Sounds like a plan."

_Yes, a plan indeed. Maybe we'll find out more about mom and dad while we are at it._ I nodded my head at Lux.

_Yes, maybe we will. Either way we will solve some mysteries._ I thought back to him. He smile and nodded his head.

_A/N: Okay, so for anyone who is confused, Torry and Lux can feel each others emotions, and speak to each other telapthically. I'll expand on that more later, hope you all like this chapter. Please let me know what you think, I really love hearing from you all!_


	4. Chapter 4

It was quiet. Far too quiet. I looked around the dusty living room noticing that no one was in it. I'd come with a tray of sandwiches and cookies, but there was no one in here to eat it.

"Ginny?" I called over my shoulder. "Have you seen the kids?"

"No, there not in here!" She called back. A chill ran down my back as I set the tray down. What on earth were those children planning? My sons, Castor and Pollux were decidedly brilliant, smart enough for Ravenclaw, but they also _loved _pranks. Fred truly had them pegged when he said they'd be 'evil geniuses.' When they were paired with the rest of the kids they became down right dangerous.

I crossed the room quickly and opened the door, glancing around the library quickly. It was empty.

A thought occurred to me suddenly and I raised my voice. "Kreacher!" I called, hoping the house elf would hear. He did, and with a crack he appeared in the middle of the room.

"Ma'am needed something?" He asked, bowing slightly. I nodded my head quickly before continuing. "Have you seen the children?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"Ten of them are in the den, Ma'am. They are playing exploding snap." Ten kids, that meant seven were still missing.

Uh-oh. Torry, Lux, James, Alexa, Alex, Aurora, and Trevor made seven. Merlin only knew what mischief those kids were causing.

"Thank you Kreacher. Please inform Ginny of the children's whereabouts." He nodded his head and left. I turned around and headed for the stairs. I didn't know where the kids were, but it was possible they were exploring around upstairs.

None of the children had ever been inside number 12 Grimmauld Place. After the war Harry had made the house into a safe house of sorts. He used it to hide witness and such. It was a shame really, this house had a lot of great history-a lot of it painful, but great none the less.

I let my hand trail lazily along the banister as I made my way up the winding stairs. I didn't see any traps, or any signs of the children. I reached the top finally and turned to the first room. A faded nameplate was on it with dark black letters.

Sirius Black.

Reading the name caused my heart to twinge with grief, but a smile came to my lips. I could hear his voice in my head singing God Bless Ye Merry Hippogriffs down these same halls. The memory was so vivid that I almost turned my head to see if he was coming my way. I took a breath and gently turned the door knob, opening the door with ease.

It had been cleaned up since I'd last been here, the books were back on the shelf and you couldn't tell it had ever been ransacked. The biggest surprise though was the Marauders picture. Seven kids were surrounding it, pointing excitedly and discussing something in hushed voices.

I smiled at the sight of the children, all so full of life and happiness. Absolutely no idea about the history of this house, or the war, or who Umbridge was.

How I envied their innocence. I had too many memories of the war, or sadness.

Torry noticed my entrance first, stiffening at the sound of the opening door. He turned towards me and Lux turned not half a second after him. It was scary how much they were alike. They were connected, normal for twins of course. But they were more connected than was usual, even Fred and George noted that they were closer than the two of them were. And the two of them could sense the others feelings, and whether or not the other was in pain. I often wondered whether or not it had something to do with Fred and my bond, but there wasn't any information written on the spell about that sort of thing. There really wasn't that much written on the spell period.

"Hello Mum." Lux said quietly. The rest of the children turned around at the sound of Lux's voice with a look of guilt on their young faces. What had they been doing?

"Who's Sirius Black?" Torry asked suddenly. I looked at him in surprise, caught off guard by the question.

"And Peter Pettigrew?" Lux added, curiosity written all over his face.

"And what does Voldmort mean?" James queried. Things were getting carried away, how had they known all these names?

"Why do you all never speak about your pasts?" Aurora asked airily.

"And what did Umbridge do?" Trevor asked, finishing the fluent streams of questions. My mouth gaped slightly and I had to shake myself to regain my composure.

"Wherever did you hear all of that?" I asked walking up to them. They stared at me with wide eyes, not answering my question.

"Never mind all that, I've fixed your lunch. It's waiting for you downstairs." I ushered them out of the room, locking the door with a Keep-Away-Key. Torry noticed what I did and looked up at me with his wide intelligent eyes.

"You know we shall find out." He said simply before heading down the stairs with the others. I stood rooted to the spot watching him descend the steps. A shudder filled me at the thought of them actually finding out. They were too young to know the answers! I couldn't tell them the truth! Fred and I, along with everyone else, had decided not to tell them anything about the war until they were old enough for Hogwarts. We didn't want to cause them any reason to be scared.

An echo of a memory sounded in my head and I felt a shiver at the words. "_Mum locking Bill, Charlie, Percy, George and me in a cabinet and telling us not to make a sound. She left us in there for over an hour. George and I were almost two, Percy was four, Charlie was six, and Bill was eight. I didn't understand what was going on, but I was really scared. There were all these strange noises coming from outside and I thought I could hear Mum screaming. When that started Bill and Charlie started telling us stories to distract us from the noise. I found out later that some death eaters had come. She'd hidden us and fought them off, but one of them got her with a crucio. I can still hear that scream in my sleep."_

Fred's very first memory dealt with the nightmare that Voldmort had caused in his reign. He'd lived his entire life under the fear of that monster-at least I had 11 fear free years.

I still had nightmares about the war. I don't have nightmares often, but when I do their worse than anything I used to dream. There are some nights when the pain is so real that I fear it's still going on. Some nights I wake up screaming the names of the fallen as I watch them die before me. We won the war, but on those nights it doesn't feel like it. It has been ten years since the battle, ten years since that hell, yet still I wake up screaming.

Most people think I have nightmares about Bellatrix torturing me, I wish that was all that plagued me. During the day the memories aren't as bad, they seem to fade with the light of the sun. It's not until I'm lying in bed that the memories come back. Only after Fred has fallen asleep. When his mind shuts down in the sweet embrace of sleep and I'm left all alone I remember.

Fred's the reason I can sleep at all on those cold nights. He always wakes up when I scream and he holds me in his warm embrace until I fall asleep, blocking all the memories with his calming thoughts.

I won't let my children suffer like that. They don't know what their asking. They don't know what it is to see people you love _die_ in front of you. They'll never know if I can help it.

I finally found the strength to move from the spot. Fred was trying to talk to me through our bond but I block him out. My memories are still to vivid to speak with him. I don't want him to feel my pain, not now.

Because the memory I keep seeing is of him, only in this one I wasn't there to save him. It flashed before my eyes in an endless flood and I couldn't block it out. A flash of light, an explosion, dust, dark laughter, a scream of pain from George, then, Fred dead on the ground. Over and over it flashed in my mind, an endless stream of pain.

I stumbled downstairs, desperate to get away from the spot in hopes that the images let up. I couldn't see where I was going and I bumped into someone. I moved my hands and looked down to see who I had walked into, my vision clearing suddenly. Torry and Lux gazed up at me with wide eyes. My eyes were still bleary, and I could still feel the tears filling them. The image of Fred collapsing under the wall flashed through my head again and I fell to my knees, grabbing the two twins and pulling them to me with a soft sob. They both instantly grabbed me as well, questioning me and worriedly asking what was wrong. I didn't answer, just squeezing them to me instead. The images finally stopped and I found myself able to breathe again.

I could still feel Fred trying to read me but I kept blocking him, I couldn't let him know what was bothering him, I couldn't cause anyone more sorrow. Not now, not ever again. We'd all had far too much in our life, and I would never purposefully cause anymore.

I finally let the twins go, kissing their curly red heads before standing again. I grasped their hands and led them into the living room. I didn't answer their insistent questions, leaving them by the food and walking by myself in to the kitchen.

I grabbed a cup out of the cabinet with shaky hands and set it on the counter, summoning the tea pot to me. I pour myself a glass and slowly sit down at the table. My hair fell around me in a bushy mess and blocked everything out. Only now that I was alone and hidden did I finally let the tears fall.

CRACK

I jump, dropping my cup of tea and screaming at the sudden noise. I turned towards the sound and gasped as I saw Fred lunge towards me, a look of pure terror contorting his handsome face. He grabbed me in a fierce hug and pulled me to him, lifting me up as he ran for the door to the living room. I was too shocked to speak as he burst open the door, taking in the startled faces of the children, Ginny, Luna, and Verity. I barely heard him mumble some excuse as he backs back out of the room and sealed the door.

"Muffliato." He mumbled, gently setting me down on the table. He leaned away from me, still looking scared and worried. My face is probably streaked with tears and I know my eyes are wide with surprise.

"What is going on?" He questioned me, his voice tense and dark. I shake my head numbly, trying to work through all my emotions. He grabs my shoulders and kneels down, looking into my eyes with fear.

"Mione, talk to me, let me in!" He said fiercely. I haven't heard him this angry in a long time, and the fire in his eyes scares me. Still, I can't let him feel my emotions yet.

"Merlin 'Mione!" He raged, pulling me to him in a fierce embrace. "Let me in! What are you playing at? You go all scared and sad, and then when I try and question you about it you block me out. You promised never to block me out 'Mione." He gasped, pulling me ever closer. "How was I supposed to know what happened? I thought the worst, what with Umbridge and everything. I thought the children might have, or that you…" He trailed off and I felt hot tears fall on my head. I squeezed him back, wanting to speak but I could get past the lump that was building in my throat. He pushed me back and stared at me with his big eyes, so incredibly intense and filled with nothing but love and worry. Tears were openly flowing from them and each one was like a dagger to my heart saying 'look, you're breaking your promise!'

"Let. Me. In." He said, pausing after each word and making sure I was looking in his eyes.

_A/N: 'Mione's little break down will be explained next chapter, do you like the kids?_


	5. Chapter 5

His eyes were filled with so much emotion that my heart constricted. I was reminded of my younger days, when we had just been married. That had been the last time I blocked him out. He'd come to the same conclusions at that time. I gathered myself together and leaned towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely dropping the barrier around my mind while I did. He kissed me back feverishly and I could feel his love surrounding me. I pulled him towards me and let him know everything I had been feeling. He surrounded me with love and comfort letting me know I was safe in his arms. I let the hum of his thoughts fill my mind, a constant reminder he was alive, that I had saved him.

_I don't get it 'Mione? Why did you let that bother you so bad? It wasn't even real, you did save me. I'm alive, and we have five kids to prove it._ His thoughts washed through my mind letting me see just how silly I had been.

_I don't really know why I did. I just kept seeing it, over and over again. It wouldn't stop and I couldn't even see past the images._ He still moved his soft lips against mine in a deep, tender kiss.

_Do you think it was magical?_ He asked. It did seem like it had been magically influenced. I'd had no control over it and it had come on quite suddenly. I'd had a few real panic attacks in my time, but they hadn't been like that.

Fred broke the kiss off, completely out of air. I gasped for breathe, but didn't let him go. I couldn't let him go yet. Fred understood and just held me too him, rocking me gently. I sniffled and squeezed him closer to me. He stood up, still holding me to him and turned around, sitting down in the wooden chair. He moved me around so I was sitting in his lap and he held me to his chest. I twisted slightly, and pressed my ear against his chest, finding immense comfort in the steady sound of his beating heart. Each beat seemed to say 'I'm here, I'm here.' Reassuring me that the images had been nothing more than that, images. They hadn't happened; my Fred was still here, still holding me.

We sat that way for a while, him rocking me, my ear pressed against his heart. I was oblivious to everything outside of my husband's arms. He'd wrapped me in a cocoon of love and no negative feelings were coming through it. It had been a long time since he'd held me like this. It had been a long time since we'd let ourselves really have one on one time. Funny that it would take a break down on my part to get some.

_Feel free to break down any time in that case._ Fred thought. I laughed softly at that and nuzzled my cheek against his chest. He was so warm, I was perfectly happy to sit here and soak up his heat as long as he let me. I always seemed to grow cold when he left, funny how I never really realized it before we came here.

"Mum, are you all right?" Lux's voice sounded from the doorway. I turned my head and smiled reassuringly at him.

"I'm fine dear, I'll be out in just a moment."

_Or not._ Fred thought, his tone playful. I leaned out of his warmth and smacked him jokingly on the arm. 

_None of that now Fred. _I paused for a moment, looking into his beautiful eyes. _I'm sorry about blocking you out. I didn't know what was going on and I panicked._

He smiled softly brushing a lock of hair behind my ear. _Next time just panic with me, okay?_ I nodded my head before standing.

"I love you Fred." I said and thought at the same time. He smiled, standing with me.

"And I love you Hermione." He also said and thought. I gave him one last kiss before walking back out the door.

Torry and Lux pounced on me the second I got out the door. They each grabbed a hand and pulled me out of the living room into the empty hallway. There blue eyes were wide and full of worry as they looked up at me.

Oh dear, I had broken down in front of them. I felt a momentary flash of discomfort as I heard Fred disapparate, and then it was gone. Good, he'd made it back to the shop. I refocused my attention on the twins, having a quick conversation with Fred.

_Maybe we should tell them, Love._

_Aren't they too young, dear?_

_They'll need to know if Umbitch really is after us._

_But what about the others?_

_There are kids, we shouldn't have to ask for their permission._

_Fred, we need to consider the fact that our kids will tell the others._

_Oh, that's right. _I smiled at his sheepish tone, it was really cute.

_We can discuss it with them tonight love. _ I said, finishing the conversation.

I looked down at my sons and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry my love's, I got a bit stressed out. I'm okay now." They looked at each other before looking back at me, disbelief evident in their eyes.

"Stressed out?" Torry questioned.

"Mum, you broke down into tears, and then Dad suddenly appears looking as though he expected to find us all hurt." Lux's said as soon as Torry finished.

"And you can't apparate in here, Uncle Harry said so himself." Torry started again right after Lux stopped.

"So how did Dad get here?" They questioned together.

"Tell you what." I said, deciding to change the subject. "Why don't I show you two were the potion supply closet is, and we can talk about what's going on tonight."

"Very well." Torry said, giving me a look to let me know he knew what I was trying to do. I showed them to the closet before leaving them to their own devices. When I left them they were grinning with a smile entirely too much like their father. I went back to the living room and picked up Gideon, pulling him to my chest and cradling him. Winnie came up to me a moment later with her favorite book, Henry the Hamster Goes to Hogwarts. I pulled her up into my lap beside Gideon and began to read the story to her.

I let my eyes wander around the cozy room as I read to her. Ginny was holding Cedric in her arms while helping him color the pages in a muggle coloring book. Verity was holding Jamie, while helping Rose, Anna, and Lily dress their dollies. Luna was playing a game of exploding snap with Albus while she watched Fabian and Hugo try to play checkered.

I loved moments like these. Reading to my children, watching my family have fun- their eyes lighting up in excitement or joy. My eyes wandered to each of their faces and I felt a thrill of joy surge up in me. Only in my wildest dreams as a child did I imagine I might have a family like this. I love my parents, and they'd always given me lots of love as a child, but I was always lonely. They never really understood me, couldn't understand me really. We were part of two different worlds. This family had opened there arms to me and accepted me whole heartedly for who I was. It still stunned me to think that I was actually married to one of the Weasley's, and to Fred no less!

We sat in the cozy room for a while, my reading and the others continuing what they were doing. I began to wonder what the seven troublemakers were up to. It was quiet upstairs which usually meant trouble.

Of course, speak of the devil and the devil will come.

An explosion sounded from somewhere upstairs, followed by a thundering of feet down the stairs. I raised my head from the book and looked over at the door in alarm. James appeared at the door, dirty and disheveled. He was grinning nervously and holding his hands out as though to placate us.

"Everything's fine, no need to worry." He said, grinning slightly as a tendril of smoke wound its way around his legs. A yell sounded behind him followed by a high pitched squeal.

"Everything's under control." He said, starting again. Another bang sounded and smoke that smelled distinctly of dragon dung blew into the room. James' eyes grew distinctly larger and he was beginning to look panicked as several voices called out in alarm from the hallway.

"We've got it, I'll take care of everything!" He exclaimed, slowly backing out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him and we heard another squeal, followed by a small explosion. My eyes caught the other three mothers and we all asked as one.

"Who wants to check?" I eyed the three women slowly. Verity would likely find whatever they had done hilarious and not get on to them. Luna probably would blame it on some foreign, imaginary animal.

Ginny however would get them. She was every bit her mother's daughter and all the children snapped to attention when she called.

"Ginny, why don't you go check and see if they're burning something down?" I said, trying to not sound as worried as I actually was.

She smiled at me and nodded her head, setting Cedric down so he could keep coloring. The rest of the children watched her leave with looks of distinct alarm on their faces. They all knew their elder siblings to well to know everything was really under control. Ginny made her way to the door, laying her hand lightly upon it before giving us one last glance.

"Wish me luck!" She said bracingly before heading out the door. More colorful smoke drifted in as the door swung shut. I waved my wand and it disappeared, but not before I could smell the distinct bitter fragrance of fluxweed.

Merlin, what were those kids doing?

A bang, a yell, a squeal, and a shriek sounded from the other room simultaneously. I lowered Winnie to the floor, handing her book to her, and then I laid Gideon asleep on the couch. I gripped my wand and headed for the door, which was changing to a curious shade of blue. I gripped the door knob tightly, feeling a tingling in my hand when I touched it. I gave it a quick turn before quickly exiting and shutting the door.

_A/N: he-he, what are those nuts doing?_


	6. Chapter 6

Pure chaos greeted me. Smoke was everywhere, and I couldn't see through it. I heard Ginny shouting something, and someone squeaking in reply. I waved my wand through the air, using a spell Fred taught me for clearing smoke. The multi colored, and very foul smelling smoke disappeared and I was finally able to see what was going on.

Ginny was trying to fight what looked to be some kind of jelly monster. The four twins were chasing after what looked to be some sort of cat, and James and Aurora were chasing after a toad.

Trevor was no where to be seen.

I raised my voice, yelling over the ruckus as I ran to help Ginny.

"What's going on here?"

"It was an accident!" Alexa yelped as the grabbed at the cat thing. Alex bounded over Alexa and landed on the giant things back. Alexa managed to catch its tail while Lux and Torry lunged for its legs. They brought it down with a loud thud and I sent a quick binding spell at it before turning my attention back to the now blue jelly thing. It was rising up and looked like it was going to attack Ginny. I sent a stunner at it which just served to make it mad. It stood up, pulsing and proceed to squirm for Ginny. She sent a blue spell at it, which bounced off him harmlessly. I heard a squeal behind me as James caught the toad.

The twins, standing up from the now still cat thing began helping me and Ginny with the Jelly thing.

"Guys," I started again, sending a binding spell at the thing. "What did you do?" I yelled the last bit as I dodged a ball of slime the thing shot at me.

"We did not do it Mum." Lux yelped as he threw a toy ball at the thing.

"Then who did?" I asked as I threw spell after spell at it. Nothing Ginny or I was doing was having any affect.

"It was Kreacher!" James yelped as he lost the frog again. Kreacher? I thought wildly, why on earth would the house elf do this?

"Torry gave him some sort of potion." Alex spouted helpfully as he threw a jack at the thing.

"It was an experimental draught, a variation of polyjuice." He explained as we all continued to fend off the monster.

"He turned into a cat." Lux continued for Torry.

"Then he went all berserk!" Alexa exclaimed.

"Yeah, he turned the rest of the potion into this and turned Trevor into a toad!"

"What!" I shrieked. They turned Trevor into a toad? Oh Merlin, this was terrible!

"Ginny! Take over!" I yelped as I turned towards Kreacher the cat creature. I tried a reversal spell but it didn't work. Merlin, why couldn't I have had good kids?

This was all Fred's fault.

_How the heck do you figure that? _A surprised voice echoed in my head. I smirked as I once again tried to change the cat thing.

_It's your gene's fault. I'm always behaved, they certainly didn't get this from me._ I thought back quickly, trying a transfiguring spell to no avail.

_That bad huh?_ He thought, changing the subject.

_What gave it away? Was it the jelly potion monster, the Trevor toad, or the unchangeable cat elf? _He laughed at my sarcasm before replying.

_Did you try a reversal potion? _I rolled my eyes at that.

_I don't have any! I even tried summoning some but it didn't work. _ I felt a quick flash of discomfort and then I heard a loud crack. I felt Fred come up behind me and I didn't even have to turn my head to know it was him.

"You're a bit late, Love." I said as I threw a shield charm up over the children as the jelly monster tossed more slime at them. Fred circled behind me and grabbed the cat/house elf/creature up off the floor before retreating out of range of the jelly monsters aim. He pulled a vial from his pocket and poured its contents down the creature's throat. It made an awful retching noise and then promptly changed back to a house elf.

The house elf looked up at Fred in great surprise before looking over at the jelly monster with a frightened squeak.

"Kreacher sorry Master Weasley!" He squeaked out, standing on shaky legs. He turned towards the creature and snapped his finger, the monster disappeared in a vapory mist, leaving us all extremely relieved.

Aurora got up from the floor, where she had dived to avoid a pile of slime, and walked towards Kreacher. She was holding a green toad to her chest, with big tears in her blue eyes as knelt in front of the elf.

"Kreacher, could you please turn Trevor back into a human?" She asked, her pale hair had fallen around her face and she looked to be the very picture of innocence. Kreacher's eyes grew even wider as he looked at the little toad.

"Oh, I'm sorry mistress! Kreacher did not mean too." He snapped his fingers and the toad grew. Aurora laid the changing frog gently on the ground, and it quickly turned back into the little boy we all loved. Trevor sat up and looked slightly dazed, but otherwise not harmed.

He grinned widely and looked at Aurora, who looked as though she wasn't sure whether he was actually all right, and spoke.

"That was so cool!" He exclaimed. I laughed at that and just shook my head.

The kids all turned as one and made to run upstairs, but stopped when they heard Fred and my voice call out as one.

"Torry! Lux! Not so fast." The kids gave our children sympathetic glances, but hurried upstairs quickly. The twins turned towards us with the look of someone going to the gallows. I stood with Fred right beside me, my hands placed firmly on my hips. My bushy hair, which had been pulled back in a pony tail, had completely fallen out.

"Castor Hermes Weasley, and Pollux Frederick Weasley, what were you thinking!" I exclaimed as Fred cast a silencing charm on the hallway. We both were annoyed, and I was mad, but neither of us would ever intentionally embarrass any of our children. Silencing charm in place Fred took up my rant where I left off. The twins walked up to us sheepishly, their heads hanging in shame.

"Why did you try out an unknown potion on Kreacher? Haven't you learned anything from your mother about house elves? You don't need to make them do things just because you can!" Fred exclaimed. I would have smiled at his defense of the house elves if I wasn't so ticked at my children.

"You could have been seriously injured! You shouldn't have even made the potion, but you most definitely should have come to your Father or me the minute Kreacher changed!" I shook my head and just stared at them sadly. "I am very disappointed in you two." Their shoulders visibly slumped and I felt a twinge of guilt.

"Go upstairs and join the others-we'll decide a punishment later." Fred said. They nodded their heads meekly and headed up the stairs.

"Oh!" He called after them, "and don't even think of making any more 'test' potions!" They continued up the stairs, the two of us watching them leave. The minute they disappeared from sight Fred grabbed my hand and dragged me into the empty library, locking the door behind us. I stared at him in surprise as I felt his desire and love flow through our bond. He turned around from the door and walked towards me, his eyes dark with desire and his face spread in a joyous grin.

"Do you have any idea how hot you look when you get mad?" He asked as he reached me. He stood over me as I backed up to the table. My legs bumped against it, causing me to fall into a sitting position on top of it.

I chuckled softly, smiling up at his handsome face. I shook my head 'no' and he grinned, leaning over me so he was just inches from my face.

"You look like a goddess. Your hair starts to fly around your face and seems to crackle with magic, your eyes grow fiery and you seem to radiate power." He fingered one of my unruly curls and smiled. "Mmm, very sexy." I smiled shyly and he grinned even wider. He leaned down, clearing the small space between us and captured my lips with his.

I gripped my wand in my hand as I kissed him back frantically and cast Muffliato. He chuckled appreciatively and deepened the kiss. Things quickly grew more heated as I basked in his attention and wonderful warmth. I reveled in his touch and love, returning just as much passion and attention to him.

Needless to say, it was quite a while later before we left the room, though I was decidedly happier than when I had entered it. It was about five o clock now, so Fred decided to leave to help George close the shop up.

I headed straight to the kitchen and started to help Ginny with dinner. She was standing over the stove casually stirring the pot as I walked up to the table and began to chop some lettuce for a salad.

"Did you and Fred have fun?" She asked nonchalantly, never turning her head or stalling in stirring. I blushed terribly and giggled.

"Yes," I said, smiling despite myself. "You couldn't hear anything did you?" I asked, suddenly horrified. She shook her head before smiling at me over her shoulder.

"Nope. I am so jealous of your bond, I wish Harry could apparate here and play with me."

I laughed at her choice of words and nodded my head appreciatively. "Yep, it has definitely got it's perks." She opened her mouth to respond when a piercing shriek sounded from the living room. I recognized Luna's voice and dropped the lettuce and knife with a clatter as I ran too my friends aid.

She was kneeling on the floor grasping her head in her hands as she wept, shaking her head as though trying to be rid of some thought. The children were staring at her in terror as Verity knelt by her side. I slid down next to her, grabbing her hands in mine. She stiffened at the contact, still crying earnestly. Ginny came up beside me and grabbed her friend in a warm hug, begging to know what was wrong. Luna made no reply, crying all the harder.

I ordered Verity to take the children out of the room, I didn't want them to see Luna break down, and I really didn't know what was going on. Verity did what I asked and took all the children out of the room, leaving just Ginny and me with Luna.

"Merlin, just talk!" Ginny exclaimed, panic filling her voice. I shot her a look, telling her to calm down with my eyes. I couldn't blame her for panicking though, I'd never seen Luna lose it. I'd never seen her upset or mad either. She was always calm and spacey, never letting anything get to her.

Ginny had grabbed her friend by the shoulders and was whispering comfortingly in her ear. I don't know what she was saying, but it worked whatever it was because Luna finally said one word.

"Ron."

_A/N: We're going to start discovering the plan next, feel free to give me any of your ideas, comments, critiques, or opininons, please review!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Merlin's beard 'Mione!_ Fred exclaimed through our bond and I realized he had been talking to me for quite a while. _What is going on!_

_Sorry, Love. It's Luna, she's gone odd on us. She's crying and won't open her eyes or talk to us. She just said Ron. Could you contact him via Patronus and tell him to come here pronto?_ I asked quickly. He agreed and I turned my attention back to Ginny.

"Fred's getting him." I said simply. She nodded her head absently, still whispering to the still sobbing Luna. But she began to talk. She started talking in a low tone, completely void of her usual airiness and dreaminess.

"She's killing him, she's killing him. They took him away, she's killing him." She kept repeating the words in a dead rhythm, rocking as she spoke, never opening her blue eyes.

A loud crack sounded behind me and I was pushed aside as strong arms picked Luna up in a fierce, protective hug and carried her to the couch. Two more cracks sounded a second later, and then two more sounded. Ron lowered Luna gently to the couch, kneeling in front of her and stroking her hair with one hand while he grippe her hand tightly with his other. She started to cry a little less as her free hand sought out Ron's face, running through his hair and along his cheek outlining his face.

Harry came up beside me resting his hand on Ginny's arm. Fred came up behind me and George was right behind him. Neville came up last, standing beside Harry and looking lost. I glanced at Ginny who barely nodded her head, and we both turned towards the boys together. We gave our heads a slight jerk towards the door and they nodded their heads in understanding. We left the room silently, leaving Luna in Ron's capable hands.

Fred gave me a significant look and I gave my head a small nod. I felt the slight tug at the back of my mind and allowed him to quickly read all my thoughts while I turned to Harry. George had left to find and help Verity, but the rest of us had retreated to the kitchen.

He met my eyes as I looked at him and he waited for me to speak expectantly. I felt Fred come up behind me and loop his arm around my shoulder in a silent sign of encouragement.

"I think I know what is going on with Luna." I said quietly. He raised his eyebrows barely and nodded for me to continue.

"It happened to me earlier." I said, pausing as I gathered my thoughts. "I was ushering the children downstairs for lunch when I suddenly got hit by a wave of memories, well they were sort of memories, but they were twisted. I kept seeing Fred die in my mind-you know, when the wall fell on him. But I wasn't there to save him." My voice shook slightly as I spoke and I felt Fred send me strength and love, helping me continue.

"I couldn't stop it, I couldn't even see past it. It took Torry and Lux to bring me out of it. Then Fred came and everything got better. It felt like it was magically induced though." Harry nodded his head in understanding, but it was Neville who spoke.

"Umbridge, you think it is her don't you." I nodded my head, confirming his statement.

"but how?" Harry asked. I thought for a moment before instantly replying, I still couldn't stop myself from answering questions.

"It's quite simple really. There are lots of spells one can cast on a person that gives them evil dreams, or nightmares-but you have to be near them." I thought for a moment, and no one else spoke. Fred grasped my hand gently in his, comforting and calming me. I gently ran my thumb along the back of his hand, feeling the thing scars on his hand. The solution to our problem hit me and I was struck with a wave of horror and revulsion.

"Or you'd need an item they all touched." I said quietly, turning to stare at Fred in horror. He looked at me, clearly worried as he heard what I was thinking.

"What?" Harry and Ginny asked together. I turned back to him and Fred and I both raised our hands, showing the scars written into our skin.

"The quill."

"Merlin's beard!" Neville exclaimed, a look of dawning comprehension lighting his face. "She can get us all with that!" his eyes grew wide and he turned to Harry, opening his mouth to say something else, but he fell to the floor in a pained heap, screaming in agony. I was beside him in a heart beat, pulling him into a hug as I started calling out orders.

"Harry, get Hannah here now!" He twisted and was gone with a resounding crack. I turned to Fred who was staring at Neville with wide, frightened eyes. "Fred, go tell George and Verity what's going on, and make sure they keep the children out of here."

He nodded his head and left, running to his twin. I turned back to Neville, Ginny already sitting beside me and I started to speak softly, trying to comfort him. A loud crack sounded behind me and I nearly screamed before I was forcefully pushed away by a blond woman.

"Neville!" Hannah shrieked. She grabbed him in her arms and pulled him to her chest, forcing him to grab her.

"No," he choked, his voice raspy and broken. "De-dea-dead!" he finally managed, pushing Hannah away and looking at her with disbelief. He closed his eyes again tightly and started to weep in earnest. Another crack sounded behind me as I stood, Ginny rising with me. Hannah was forcing Neville to look at her, reassuring him she was indeed alive.

I grabbed Ginny's arm, and reached behind me, groping for where I knew Harry's arm would be. I found it and grabbed onto it, making sure I had both of them in my grip before heading for the door. We stumbled through it blindly, still in shock at what was going on. I looked wildly around the room, barely noticing I was in the living room again. Ron was sitting on the couch, holding Luna tightly, who was leaning into his shoulder crying softly.

Ron looked up at us in surprise as he tightened his grip on Luna. "What's going on mate?" He asked Harry, his eyes wide. I turned my head, looking briefly at Harry while I spoke with Fred in my head. I suddenly just needed to know where he was, that he was safe. He spoke back to me, comforting me and letting me know that everything was alright with him and all of our children.

Harry was saying something while he hugged Ginny to his side. I came in on the end of the conversation, only hearing a few words. "Fell to the floor, Hannah's taking care of him." Ron nods his head in understanding and continues to gently rub Luna's back. She takes a deep breath and slowly pulls away from her husband, looking up at us with watery eyes.

"Poor Neville, I don't envy him one bit. That was possibly the most horrid thing that has ever happened to me." Her voice was it usual tone, but lacked its dreamy quality still.

"Nor do I, it really is awful." Luna looked at me in surprise, raising her eyebrows as both Ron and her stood.

"You had a memory attack too?" she questioned. "Why did you not say anything?" She continued talking before I had a chance to answer though. "Did she modify one of your memories to? I thought I was back at Malfoy Manor, only this time it was Ron being tortured instead of you-and Bellatrix killed him."

"I saw Fred dying at the wall, and I wasn't there to save him this time." I said quietly.

"So she's changing memories we've already got so that there worse." Harry said thoughtfully.

"No," I said quietly, capturing Luna's eyes with mine. "She's picking our very worst memories and making them even worse. She's making it were we can't tell which memory is real, where we don't know if we've really lost the person in the memory."

"Exactly." Luna said, and I was extremely grateful to hear her voice had it's dreamy quality back.

"How did that affect you then 'Mione?" Harry asked, looking surprised. "You're connected to Fred, you can hear each other's thoughts." I smiled sheepishly at that and lowered my eyes.

"I blocked Fred out in my panic-I know it was stupid but I was overwhelmed at the time."

_To put it mildly._ I heard Fred think.

A loud gong sounded and every last one of us jumped, drawing our wands out as we did. We turned around quickly and aimed out wands at the clock.

"Merlin!" Ginny exclaimed. We all looked at each other, with our wands out ready to kill a clock, and slowly we began to laugh. We calmed down quickly, taking in deep breaths to stop laughing.

"I think we should eat dinner, and then decide what we want to do. We can have Kreacher watch the kids for us." I finally said. The others nodded their heads in agreement and we split up. Ginny and I cautiously head for the kitchen, breathing in relieved sighs when we find it empty. We resume our dinner preparations, working faster and more seriously this time. We had dinner completely finished less than half an hour later and we called everyone to the immense table.

Diner was a fun affair, despite the fact that all the adults were scared of being attacked, and the kids could tell we were upset. Fred and George stepped in as they always do when things are tense and had us all laughing our heads off fairly quickly. Torry, Lux, Alex, and Alexa joined in and pretty soon we were hardly eating for laughing, our worries all but forgot.

Dinner finished far too quickly for my taste, and we split up, the adults heading into the living room, the children heading upstairs with Kreacher. Harry led the way into the living room, summoning two more couches, so that each couple had one. I sat down across from Harry and Ginny's, with Fred coming up behind me. He looked down at me before getting a big grin. He sat down beside me and turned, laying his head on my lap and bending his legs so they fit on the couch. He was warm against my legs and I felt his contentment through our bond. I laid one hand across his chest, and ran my other one through his hair. I looked up from him to see if everyone else was sitting down, and smiled when I saw Ginny eyeing me with a small grin.

"Okay," Harry said, starting our sort of meeting. "I think the first thing we need to do is figure out how to take care of the fact that we keep seeing memories that aren't real." He paused, fiddling with his glasses before continuing. "Any ideas?" everyone turned to Harry or me, as though they expected us to come up with a solution.

_Why do they always look at me?_

_Because you're the brightest witch here. It just comes naturally to them._

_Well I don't have any ideas, what should I do?_

_How should I know? We only got three OWLS remember?_

_Oh Please! Don't use your grades as an excuse, you could have got an OWL in each subject if you'd wanted-you're brilliant._

_I am aren't I?_

_Modest too._

_Nobody's perfect._

_You least of all._

_Ouch, that hurts!_

I smiled, probably making the others wonder what we were talking about before speaking up.

"I think the only real solution is to not be alone. Make sure that someone who is in this room is always near you. Fred, George, you two keep tabs on each other at the shop. Harry, Ron, Neville, don't let each other out of your sight. Hannah, can the Leaky Cauldron get along without you for a few days?" I asked. She nodded her head and looked at Neville with obvious worry.

"Great, then that's what we'll do. Hannah, you can stay home with the Ginny, Hermione, Luna, and Verity."

"Any luck finding information about Umbridge?" Fred asked from my lap. Harry shook his head no, looking distinctly depressed.

"Well then, that brings me to my next question. What are we going to tell our children. I think they deserve to know what is going on, at least some of it." Fred said, locking eyes with Harry.

_A/N: Please review and let me know what you think :)!_


	8. Chapter 8

Harry straightened up after being addressed and looked surprised when Fred finished his question. The others in the room stiffened as the sound of his voice faded and I could almost taste the tension in the air. Harry took his glasses off and began polishing them, something he only did when he wanted to stall. Usually because he either thought the person was going to dislike his idea, or he wanted to word his opinion carefully.

Harry finally raised his eyes from his glasses and looked Fred in the eye.

"I don't think we should tell them." He finally said, a look of defiance on his face. Clearly he expected Fred to get mad. However, being able to sense Fred's thoughts and feelings I knew he wasn't anything of the sort. He shoved his legs off the couch, twisting so he was sitting up. I instantly missed his warmth and shivered. He shuffled a little and then held his arm up, looping it around my shoulders and pulling me nearer him.

"I can respect your opinion." Fred said slowly, looking down at me, asking if I was on his side.

_I'm always on your side love._ I answered back, snuggling into him and cherishing his warmth.

"However," he continued, raising his eyes so he was looking at Harry again. "I would like to hear your reasons for not wanting to tell them, and then I would like to share my own reasons for wanting to tell them."

I smiled slightly from my spot in Fred's arms as I watched Harry's eyebrows raise at Fred's very official sounding request. He rarely heard my husband sound so formal-but then Fred really never had call to be around him. Fred was only formal when he really was passionate about something, and really didn't want anything to affect people's opinion of it. He felt that if he was perfectly serious then others might take him seriously.

That was something that bugged me. My husband was a _brilliant_ man, he shouldn't be looked at as some immature boy. He joked to relive tension, to make people laugh, and because he loves the sound of laughter. He loves to make people happy, to make them smile. He's very observant, knowing just how far he can push a joke, but not offend anyone. Yet everyone treats him and George like they're just stupid pranksters.

It _really_ ticks me off.

_I can tell 'Mione, and I'm truly touched._ Fred thought, I blushed a little at his voice. I forgot he could read my mind. After ten years you'd think I was used to it.

"Alright, I'll do that." Harry said slowly. He clasped Ginny's hand and gave her a quick look before turning back to Fred.

"One, I think there too young to know about the war and all it entailed."

_Irrelevant and easy to rebuke. _I thought quickly. _Everyone but here but Ginny and Luna was born while the war was going on, most of you grew up fearing Voldmort was going to come knocking. Second, you didn't say tell them everything, obviously we would edit._

_I completely concur. He's never won a fight against you has he?_ Fred thought back. I stifled a giggle at that and shook my head. Harry James Potter could not when a debate against me, and I'd proven it loads of times.

"Second," he continued oblivious to Fred's and my thought conversation. "I don't want them to view us differently."

_Don't even get me started on how we can refute that one. They'll always see us as there dorky, outdated, un-cool parents. It's just a fact of life. We could be the lead singers of the Weird Sisters and we'd still be lame._

Fred shook a little bit as he tried not to laugh at my thoughts.

"Third, I don't want them to know that I died, or that Fred was supposed to and only got saved through and illegal spell."

_Okay, that might be a bit more difficult._

_One word, edit._ Fred thought back to me. I smiled at that and sent back a quick conformation.

_We've got him, Love._

_I'd say so 'Mione._

Every one was quiet as they turned to look at Fred, waiting for his rebuttal. He cleared his throat softly and squeezed me to his side again.

"First, there not to young." He stated plainly. He then motioned to everyone in the room. "Most of us were born while the war was going on, and if we weren't, we knew about what happened during it almost before we could say our own name. We were told you'd defeated him, but that he might come back." He leaned forward a little, looking Harry directly in the eyes. "My children won't have to worry about that last bit thanks to you. I'd like them to know that." Harry blushed a little but didn't respond.

"Also, we don't have to tell them every single detail. I was thinking more of a general overview. You know, give them the basics. At least what you can find out in the new edition of Hogwarts a History."

He leaned back in his chair again, completely at ease. "For your second point, I highly doubt they'd view us differently. We'll still be as backwards and old fashioned as we ever were to them.

For your third reason, I once again bring up the point of editing the story. No one says we have to tell them everything. However, they will one day find out about you. Wouldn't you rather it was you who told them about it?"

_Nice guilt there._ I thought.

_Thanks._ He thought back quickly.

"Finally, I have a point I would like you all to consider." He looked over at me quickly, asking my permission to tell, which I granted.

"This afternoon Hermione was attacked by whatever it was. She was attacked while she was gathering the kids. What would have happened if she had been the only one here? Who would watch the kids, keep them from coming to harm? Furthermore, how do we know Umbridge won't attack us all at the same time? I don't know about all of you, but I would really like my children to know who and what Umbridge is so they'll be able to defend themselves, and know to run from her."

I could tell by the look on some of their faces that none of them had considered that.

_Nicely done Fred, who do you think will go with us?_

_George and Verity for sure. Neville and Hannah too, judging by their expressions. Ron, Luna, Ginny and Harry are up for grabs though._

Neville reached down his collar and pulled out a leather string that was tied around his neck, a single Galleon hung off it. It was old and looked as though it had been attacked by a cat, it was covered in tiny scratches that I knew to be the names of every member of the second DA that we had lost. He looked at the coin, rubbing his hand along the lettering with almost reverent care. He lifted his eyes to Harry who was looking at him as though he didn't know what to think.

"I watched all these children grow up before my eyes, I watched them learn to fight, learn to defend themselves. I learned each of their names and watched them rise up to join in the final battle. I'd like my children to know what they sacrificed. I'd like them to at least know their names." He looked at Harry significantly before staring at Fred.

"I'm with you." He said softly.

Ginny looked at the coin sadly, a tear forming in her eye. "Harry," she said softly. "you know I'll go with whatever you decide. However, I think our children deserve to know about the people there named after." She lifted her eyes from the coin and stared at his eyes.

"About all of them, the good and the bad." He looked at her eyes for a minute before smiling softly. He turned to Ron and titled his head.

"What do you think, mate?" he asked. Ron smiled softly, glancing at Luna before answering.

"I'm with you whatever mate, but I think Fred's got some good points."

Harry looked around the room and laughed, causing me to nearly jump in surprise.

"What's so funny?" Ginny questioned indignantly. He smiled apologetically before answering.

"I'm doing it." He said, staring at Ron and Me. "I'm turning in to Dumbledore and the others." With those words his meaning clicked, and I had to stifle a laugh. How many hours had he spent complaining to Ron and me, and pretty much anyone else who would sit still long enough, about how annoying it was to never be told anything?

"They use to drive me crazy not telling me things. Now I'm doing it to my own kids. Merlin help me, I'm doing it." He shook his head good naturedly, a smile playing on his lips.

"All right, we'll tell them. We'll tell them tonight."

Fred smiled happily before hopping up.

"Great, but I want some dessert first!" we laughed at him, but everyone got up just as eagerly.

Less than ten minutes later we had all the children, and adults gathered in the living room with big bowls of ice cream. Mine was chocolate of course, but Fred's was a strawberry Kiwi blend I'd made for him-he loved that flavor.

Terry and Lux were sitting on the floor beside Alex and Alexa, chatting away happily. James sat on their other side, Trevor and Aurora squeezed beside him. The seven of them looked as though they were planning something, but I was too tired to ask what it was.

On the other end of the room Hugo, Fabiean, Rose, Winnie, Albus, Lilly, and Anna were all gathered in a small circle, giggling happily as they ate there ice cream.

Gideon, Jamie, and Cedric were upstairs with Kreacher, we'd all agreed they were really too young.

The rest of us were sitting on the couches, trying to decide how to start. We kept having silent conversations with our eyes, but seemed to be having trouble understanding each other.

"Mum, Dad, what is it?" Torry finally asked. I jumped slightly in surprise before shooting Harry a quick glare, which he understood to mean 'told you, you needed to speak up!'

I turned back towards the twins, and was a little unnerved to notice that _every_ kid was looking at me.

"Do you remember asking me why we were here earlier, dear?" I asked, trying to not sound tense. He nodded his head quickly, him and Lux both leaning forward eagerly.

"It has to do with something that happened to all of us when we were back in school."

"Really?" James asked, sounding surprised. "But that was ages ago!" I bristled up at that and stared at him in indignation. It had only been ten years since we were in school, that was not _ages_.

Harry let out a surprisingly boyish laugh at James' statement before ruffling his hair fondly.

"I know, hard to believe something that happened that long ago can still bother us." James nodded his head in agreement, completely oblivious to the fact that he had insulted me. Fred chuckled softly at my resentment.

_That was his whole lifetime, Love. Of course it seems like ages ago. Yesterday seems like ages ago to them._

_Okay, but still, it wasn't really that long ago._

_Of course not dear._

"Well, when we were in school there was this really dark wizard that was rising in power." Harry explained. "Do you remember how we told you some wizard's can go bad?"

"Yep." They all answered.

"Well there was one that went really bad. His name was Voldmort." A visible shudder went through most of the adult, save for Ron and Me. We'd grown use to his name-it no longer scared us to hear it. Harry settled himself back on the couch and began the tale, starting with his childhood. How Voldmort had killed his parent in an attempt to stop a prophecy, but had made it come true by killing them. How he'd been thrown from power that night, and how Harry had to move in with the Durselys. James, Albus and Lilly cringed in sympathy at that part.

He then told how he'd gotten his letter from Hogwarts and discovered he was a wizard. He explained about how he'd met each of us, and stopped Voldmort from getting the stone.

He explained about each of our years, and what had occurred during them, skipping any overly gory details, or scary scenes. He told them about the Mauraders, about the Order of the Phoenix, about the DA, about what had driven us to create the illegal defense club. He explained about the evils of Umbridge, and we all showed the scars on our hands. He went on to describe how we bested her, and then briefly described the battle at the Ministry of magic. He brushed over sixth year, noting the highlights. He then told about our seventh year, giving them the details of the adventure, but skipping the part with Ron leaving and me and him getting attacked by Nagini. He skipped the part where Luna's father betrayed us, and my getting tortured.

He told about destroying the Horcrux's, the battle, his confrontation, and finally the victory. Once he had explained everything he answered all the children's questions, going into extra detail about specific people, namely James Senior, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore, Snape, and Lilly of course.

"The reason we're telling you all of this is that one, we think you're all old enough to know about our past, and because Umbridge has escaped from Azkaban." Harry finally finished.

_A/N: Reviews are love!_


	9. Chapter 9

{}o{}o{}Fred's View Point{}o{}o{}

The minute Harry stopped speaking the kids eyes grew as big as saucers. Their mouths fell open and they let out little 'O's' in varying degrees of fright and or excitement.

"In essence, the toad face woman who worked for the Ministry took a teaching position at Hogwarts where she illegally tortured you during your fifth year and took over the school, has broken out of prison and swore revenge on all of us." Lux said out loud, looking at Harry with perfect seriousness. I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face. He put what Harry had been talking about for the last three and a half hours in a sentence that took him all of thirty seconds to say.

Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times, reminding me greatly of a fish, before he to broke out in a grin.

"Pretty much, yes."

Alex and Alexa turned around quickly with equally large, and mischievous grins on their face and asked together, "Did you really turn an entire corridor into a swamp?" George and I nodded our heads, leaning forward and grinning equally mischievously.

"We did." We both answered.

"Harry need a distraction." George explained.

"We needed a test for the swamp." I continued.

"And we needed to escape." George finished looking at me with a grin. It was hard to believe that event had taken place over twelve years ago, it didn't seem that long ago. I could still remember every detail of our 'escape' perfectly.

The two of them began to pepper us with question, which we answered with relish. While we spoke, the kids broke off into groups, asking each of us specific questions. Alex, Alexa, Torry, and Lux were talking to George and me, drilling us with questions about our seventh year, and Potterwatch. They actually thought it was really cool, they loved the idea of us hosting an illegal radio show with code names. They had fun trying to guess what each of our names were, and figuring out how we had come up with them. They figured out that Lee was River really quick, and that it was because of his last name that we chose it. They took a while to figure out Remus' name of Romulus, but Torry eventually connected it to the legend of the wolf twins.

Kingsley they thought was easy, and they laughed loud and hard when they found out I had originally been 'Rodent.' It was fun to relive some of those memories, we'd had a lot of laughs on that show, as well as more than a few close calls.

It was well past midnight by the time we finally got the kids to bed, and they were still talking to each other after we'd turned off the lights and shut the doors. They'd be beat tomorrow, but I was really happy we'd finally told them most everything-I'd always really wanted to, but I'd respected Harry's wishes on the subject.

Hermione and I went to bed after two, staying up for a little while longer and talking. She wanted to tell me about the memory escapade, even though I could just read her mind, she still _needed_ to tell me about it. I understood that and listened to her every word while I held her tight against me. It took her a while but I finally got her to relax enough that she fell asleep. I stayed up for a while longer, watching over her sleeping form. I was blocking all her negative thoughts as I wrapped her mind in a protective cocoon. She still had nightmares frequently, and I didn't want her to have any on what she'd seen today. I watched her long into the night, keeping a silent vigil over her. I knew I'd pay for it in the morning but I so wanted her to have a good sleep. I fell asleep around 4am, unable to keep my eyes open any longer.

{}{}{}

Something was tickling my nose. I'd wiggled it in an attempt to bat whatever it was messing with my nose away, but to no avail. I slowly cracked one eye open before shutting it tightly again. It was too bright in the room. It couldn't be morning already, I'd just laid down.

Then that tickle came again, joined by a warm weight settling on top of my torso. Warm arms hugged me and a quick, warm, sweet, pressure touched my lips. I unconsciously leaned forward, attempting to capture that sweet pressure again, for however short a while. A distinct giggle sounded and I felt a flash of annoyance as the warm presences pulled away, leaving me with just the blanket.

"None of that, Love. It's time to wake up!" Hermione's endlessly perky voice called out to me from somewhere to my left and I had to bite back a groan of annoyance. I slowly blinked my eyes opened and looked at the blurry face of my wife. She was up and alert, looking for all the world as though she had slept for more than the hours we had spent in bed.

Merlin's beard, how did she manage to be so perky?

_Because I get to wake up next to you._

I blushed at that, resisting the urge to go 'aww,' and choosing to grab her in a quick kiss instead. She pulled away quickly, giving me a brief hug before heading towards the wardrobe. She opened it up happily while I sat up in bed. She grabbed out my magenta WWW robes and returned to my side before I'd even had time to climb out of bed.

"Now you hurry up and get dressed while I fix your breakfast, George is already eating!" she left the room with that stamen and bounded down the stairs. I got dressed and went downstairs to join my twin and wife for a quick bite of eggs and bacon. We apparated to the shop together and began to go about our regular start up routine.

"Strange Umbridge hasn't come to the shop yet." George said randomly as we turned off the protective jinxes and hexes we set up during the night

I glanced at him quickly before resuming my morning check. "Yeah, figured she'd have come over here and started defacing our property immediately." George nodded his head absently as he stacked up a pile of Skiving Snackboxes.

"Probably too scared what would happen to her." George finally answered, grinning wickedly. I laughed appreciatively before I unlocked the cash register.

"Yep, she probably knows we've already setup Umbridge traps all around the store."

"Speaking of which, did you set up the centaur dust cloud trap?" George asked as he walked towards the front, fiddling with our sign. He switched it to 'OPEN' and then ran for the counter as people started streaming in. I nodded my head at him as I began to take Owl orders. He took over the cash register and we began to work. I filled order after order, the owls never seemed to cease. Hogwarts was nearing the end of its school year and seniors were rushing to pull off a few last great pranks.

After an hour or so Lee showed up. He'd agreed to help us with the shop since Verity couldn't help out right now. He was a partner in the company, and owned a fourth of it. I set him to helping the customers find objects before returning to the Owls. I had just grabbed an order form from a tawny barn owl. When I felt a flash of pain come from George. I turned around in a panic just in time to see him collapse as he screamed in pain.

I ran towards him pell mell, yelling for Lee to close the shop. I knelt next to him and grabbed his arm. He was curled up in a fetal position and was sobbing. They were heart breaking sobs that immediately caused me to feel like I was falling apart.

"G-George." I whispered, my voice trembling as I felt tears well up in my eyes. I'd only ever seen George cry once, and that was when he saw me wake up from the coma. He grabbed onto my arms and pulled me to his chest, crying harder. I tried to pull him up, but that just resulted in him pulling me tighter, and crying still harder.

I gave up trying to pull him away, thanking Merlin that Lee had at least managed to clear the store. 'Mione tried to contact me, but I was too occupied at that moment to answer. The sound of George's sobs was making it were I couldn't think-couldn't even breathe.

Lee came up to us from the door and knelt beside me, saying something, I didn't hear what because I suddenly knew to clearly what was making my brother scream in such gut-wrenching sobs.

My vision had darkened, fading to complete black, and then everything flashed white as I found myself soaring on a broom in the middle of moonlight night. Dad was behind me, flying the broom as I was casting spells. A green spell exploded just to our right as Dad frantically flew the broom to the left. That's when I was hit by the pain, a pain so vivid that it caused me to gasp and curl up into myself as I clutched at my head. My ear was still attached though. That's when I knew they'd got George, someone had hit my twin, my other half. I yelled this news to my dad and he flew faster and harder than I'd ever seen him do before. Vision grew fuzzy as the pain increased, I knew George was fading and it scared the bloody hell out of me. We landed in the Burrows front yard minutes later, but I couldn't really tell how long it had been. I was feeling like I was dying, George was fading and I was losing contact with him.

Someone tried to stop us at the door, I couldn't see to tell who it was. Dad was holding me up as he yelled at whoever it was. He blasted his way through and ran for the couch, dragging me along. I couldn't feel George anymore and I knew he was dying, and he was dying fast. No injury compared to this feeling-it was like I was losing half of my soul, half of my very being.

I stumbled around the couch in a pained heap, barely seeing with my eyes. Dad grabbed me before I fell, helping me to see the two couches. They'd been pushed together to form a big bed. George was lying on one half, his head covered in blood. He was paler than anything I'd ever seen, Sir Nick looked darker than his skin. His lips were blue and his eyes open and unseeing. I couldn't breathe again, my world was growing cloudy as I stared at my dying twin-how was I going to continue without him? My eyes wandered around his face, my heart breaking even more as I studied its familiarity, when my eyes caught a bit of brown on his side. I brushed my eyes over it and then truly felt my heart snap.

On the couch next to my dying brother was Hermione, and she was dead.

I let out a moan of pain as I sank to my knees under the horror of seeing both of them dead or dying. My vision swam but I couldn't lose myself in the blessed oblivion of unconsciousness, I was just alone with my misery. Then I felt the last bit of life in George slip away, and I was alone.

For the first time in my life I was completely and utterly alone. I didn't have the gentle comforting hum of George's emotions, or the more reassuring whir of Hermione's thoughts and confusing emotions. It was just me, me and my pain. Neither George nor Hermione ever able to comfort me again. A roaring filled my ears as I fell face forward to the ground, my body couldn't hold me up anymore.

And I wept, I wept for everything I had lost. Just me and the darkness that surrounded me as I wept alone.

_A/N: I'm not really sure why, but I rather like this chapter. I love WWW and I will probably write a story about it's opening one of these days... Anyway, please let me know what you think!_


	10. Chapter 10

I have no idea what is happening. I was cleaning the table off, the kids had done some sort of potion test on it and it had turned an interesting green. I was wiping some of the foam off of it when I suddenly was hit by a terrible wave of fright from Fred, along with a faint echo of pain from George. Whenever he had a really strong emotion I could feel it through Fred, he had the same thing with me. I instantly tried to contact Fred, only to be overwhelmed by a wave of pain. I grasped the back of a chair in a desperate attempt to keep my feet under me as I tried to control the overwhelming hurt. My wand, I needed to find my wand. Where had I left it? I needed to get Verity too, George was being attacked. I called out her name, but it came out as barely more than a whisper.

The pain got unbearably worse and I fell to the floor in a pained heap as I began to see what Fred was feeling.

No! I wouldn't let him feel that terror! Nothing was going to hurt him while I was around. I'd take the pain a thousand times before I let him feel it. I stood up with strength I hadn't known I had and I ran towards the kitchen door, screaming for Verity. She bounded into the kitchen the same time I did with a look of surprise, and then instant worry. I gripped my wand off the counter and nodded my head as I grabbed her hand. I twisted and instantly we were in the shop. Fred and George were crouched on the floor, clinging to each other desperately as they sobbed in great heaving gasps. I'd never heard such wails from either of them. Lee was hanging over them in clear panic as he tried to get them to look at him. Verity and I both lunged forward and grabbed our man, taking care not to break them apart.

I pushed through his thoughts with all the force I could muster. I destroyed the image with my mind, forcing him to see my memory of the event, the way it had actually happened. He gave a great shuddering gasp as my emotions and memories washed over him and I held him up so that he didn't fall face forward. He grabbed onto me desperately, reaching out and looking as lost as a child who'd had a nightmare.

In that moment I knew I could kill Umbridge. If she'd been present I'd have found the hatred necessary to use Avada kedavra. Never had I hated someone as much as I hated her in that moment. I had hated Bellatrix and Voldmort, but that was more of a required hatred. I now hated Umbridge with a passion that was scary. I didn't just want her to die, I _wanted _to kill her-I _wanted_ to be the one to do it. She had done this-she had broken my Fred. She'd fed him some twisted, lie of a memory and made him believe it-made him believe both George and I had died.

He finally released the last bit of the memory and clung to me, finally letting me hear his thoughts. They were jumbled and scared but he was letting me in.

Verity wasn't getting through to George, he wasn't recognizing her presences, or Fred's. Fred had beaten the vision, I could tell because he was speaking with me again, well, not really thinking, he was still too scared to use actual words. But the vision had disappeared, and he was holding me back. I grabbed Fred's hands and focused all my attention on that small link I had to George through him. I barely made contact but was pushed away by the sorrow he radiated. I turned to Verity who was crying out to George to recognize her. I grabbed her arm, placing her wand in her hand.

"Use Occlumency on him-Fred and I'll get him through there twin bond." She nodded her head mechanically, already turning back to her husband. She yelled the spell with incredible power at the same moment I managed to break through to Fred. He realized what I was doing and joined me. Together we both focused all our power on their twin bond. We started hitting the image he was seeing, breaking it down with Verity's help. It was some sort of explosion, and it took me a moment to realize what he was seeing. It was the explosion the Death Eaters had set off in Weasley Wizarding Wheezes right after the war had started. Both Fred and Verity had been in the shop, George had been getting supplies. He'd come around the corner to see Verity and Fred running towards him as the shop exploded. Except in this version, they were both lying dead on the ground.

Verity started to show him what really happened while Fred and I focused on calming his emotions, surrounding him in an envelope of love and safety. Verity finally showed him what really happened, breaking the spell of the other 'memory.' Fred and I retreated while Verity grabbed him. I gave Fred a hug as I let go of Fred and George's bond, focusing on Fred now. He was shaking against my hold and that really scared me. I'd never seen him so broken. Just showed how much he loved his twin. He had pushed aside all his emotions and focused soley on freeing him, amazing to me. I'd felt those emotions, they were overwhelming, I doubt I'd have been able to just push them down.

I rubbed his arms and let him have full access to my mind and thoughts, letting him know how much I loved him, and letting him see my awe at how strong he was when he saw his brother lying on that couch. He pulled me tightly against him and I began to stroke his hair.

_'Mione…_ he whispered to my mind. I grabbed him tighter and spoke soothingly to his mind.

_It's alright love, believe me, I know. What it's like. _

He smiled sheepishly against me and took a deep breath. George was whispering to Verity behind us and I could hear her making comforting noises.

"What the _Hell_ just happened guys!" Lee yelled behind us. We all four jumped and looked up at him with sheepish expressions.

Nobody else was in much of a condition to speak so I did. I pulled Fred up with me as turned towards Lee.

"Um, it's kind of a long story." He looked at me like I was crazy as he crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.

"I've got the time Hermione." He said quietly.

"Then you're coming with us." I said in a voice that demanded no question. He nodded his head, looking slightly surprised at my tone. I motioned to my arm as I gripped an unsteady Fred to my side. Verity was also standing, pulling George to her. Lee grabbed my proffered arm and I apparated to Grimmauld Place.

We landed on unstable feet and fell to the floor as Ginny appeared out of nowhere to help us.

"What's going on?" She asked as she helped me get Fred onto a couch, Lee was helping Verity with George.

"Yeah!" Lee exclaimed, leaning against the couch opposite us with a breath.

I grabbed Fred's hand in mine and answered Ginny's question first.

"They were attacked." Her eyes grew wide and she looked from Fred to George in obvious worry.

"At the same time?" Her voice grew slightly squeaky at the end.

"Yes, very near to the same time." I answered. Lee let out an annoyed puff.

"Oi! Mind backing up a bit and telling me who exactly is attacking them?" Lee said, clearly irritated.

I smiled sheepishly and looked at Ginny. "Would you mind explaining, I need to catch my breath." Not entirely true, I really just wanted to speak with Fred. She understood what I meant though and promptly began explaining things to Lee as she gently led him out of the room. He resisted her lead for a moment but glanced over at George, who was holding on to Verity as though she was the only thing keeping him alive, and he followed her out of the room.

I shuffled around on the couch we were sitting on, grabbing Fred's arm and looping it around me. I pushed my arm behind him and gripped his waist, pulling him closer to my side. I wrapped my other hand around the rest of his waist and squeezed him closer as I leaned my head against his shoulder.

He was still feeling scared and uncertain, but was trying to not let me know that he was feeling scared. I scooted as close as I could to him, hearing Ginny and Lee's voices grow fainter. I pushed my emotions of love and feelings of protectiveness and snuggled up against his warm side. He was shaking a slight bit, clearly still scared at the memories. I could tell he was trying to hold himself together in front of the others but really just wanted to break down. I gripped his waist tightly and helped reinforce his front. He smiled thankfully, squeezing my shoulder.

On his other side Verity was doing much the same to George. Fred and George were holding each other with their own arms almost unknowingly. From the images I had seen in their 'memories', I couldn't blame them in the least bit.

I let go of his waist quickly and grabbed my wand, casting muffliato before grabbing his waist again. They both smiled appreciatively at me. I began to rub small, slow, circles into his back. He relaxed slightly against me, and I paused in my rubbing.

"Are you two alright?" I finally asked. Fred nodded his head feebly while George did a shrug grimace thing that I wasn't sure how to interpret. Verity must have known though because she gave him a quick hug before glancing over at me.

"Let's give them a moment alone, okay Hermione?" I didn't want to do anything of the sort but I could tell Fred wanted to speak to George alone, so I begrudgingly got up, placing one tender, quick, kiss on his soft lips before I followed Verity out of the room.

She was pale and looked like she was trying not to shake. I had forgotten about her, I'd been around for everyone's attacks she'd always been sent away before it got serious. Poor thing was probably scared stiff. I'd never seen Fred break down, she'd probably never seen George break down either…

I walked up to her and gave her a sisterly hug. We all got along really well, Ginny, Luna, and me, we never saw Fleur, Penelope or Brianna much but we got along with them as well. However, Ginny, Luna, and I had a bond that Verity could never have with us. We'd gone through a lot together, and it had made us all as close as real sisters. Out of the three of us, I was closest to her-probably because of all the things us, Fred, and George did together. So I was probably the only one who would have thought to comfort her. She leaned into my hug and sniffled gratefully. We heard a laugh emanating from the other room and both gave wet laughs.

CRACK

The sound of someone apparating into the room made both Verity and I jump at the same time as well as a scream. George and Fred came bursting into the room as Harry straightened up from where he had apparated. His eyes were wide as he turned towards Fred and George, a look of horror on his face.

"Thank Merlin, your alive!" He gasped as he grasped the counter. I grabbed his arm and helped steady his feet as he looked at Fred and George with obvious fear.

"Why wouldn't we be?" George asked, his voice only slightly worried. If I hadn't seen him five minutes ago I would never have known either him or Fred had been attacked.

"Weasley Wizarding Wheezes just blew up." Harry said quietly.

_A/N: Sorry about the cliffy, it couldn't be helped... I promise to update quickly!_


	11. Chapter 11

For half a second there was complete and utter silence, then all hell broke out. Verity and I both grew deathly pale while Fred and George turned redder than their vibrant hair. Their bellows of disbelief and anger drowned out the sound of Lee and Ginny both running into the kitchen. She looked over to see me holding Harry's arm and her brothers yelling. She was by Harry's side in a heart beat, holding him to her as she stood between him and the twins. Lee's eyes were as wide as saucers and he looked really worried.

It took the loud CRACK of someone apparating to get Fred and George to stop yelling. They rarely got really mad, but when they did it was hard to get them to calm down. I couldn't blame them for being mad though, I was furious as well.

Ron strode forward, standing beside me and Harry, looking at Fred and George with sympathy as they stopped speaking.

"Reckon you've already told them about the shop then." He said sheepishly. Harry nodded his head stiffly, rubbing Ginny's arm.

"We got some info about Umbridge Harry." Ron said, turning towards him. We all froze and stared at him in surprise.

"Really?" we all asked at once. He nodded his head somberly.

"She was spotted by the Leaky Cauldron, Michael Corner saw her." He explained. "She had her wand and everything, but she was also carrying something that he called a 'scabbard.' Said it was covered in runes."

"A scabbard?" I asked. He turned towards me and looked surprised for a moment.

"Yeah, what's a scabbard?"

"It's what you carry a sword in." I explained quickly, still not able to not answer a question.

"Why would Umbridge be carrying a sword?" Harry mused out loud.

"She wasn't." Ron corrected quickly. "She just had the scabbard-Michael would have mentioned it if she'd had a sword." He chuckled softly while looking at his notes. "Believe me, he would have mentioned it. He gave me a four page description of her clothing. You have to love Ravenclaws."

"Why would she want a scabbard without a sword?" Lee asked, striding up next to Fred.

Ron and Harry both whipped their heads around and looked at Lee in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Ron questioned, but he was smiling so it didn't come off as mean. Lee raised his eyebrows and glanced at me before looking at Ron again.

"Fred and George were attacked at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, I helped the girls get them back." He explained. Harry's eyes grew even wider and he stared at Fred and George in shock.

"Why didn't you mention that?" He exclaimed. Fred and George glared back at him and answered together.

"Because you just told us our shop blew up! We didn't have a chance to mention it before!" They bellowed, I dropped Harry's arm and went to Fred's side, grabbing his hand in mine as I felt the force of his anger at Umbridge. He wanted to go back to the shop and I wasn't about to let him. If I was holding onto him then he couldn't apparate without me.

Knowing exactly what I was thinking he gave me an irritated stare before returning his attention to Harry. I also turned my attention back to Harry.

"You think she was trying to kill them with the explosion." I said, my voice only shaking a little. I felt Fred's shock and was barely aware of seeing Verity move next to George with a protective expression on her face. My eyes sought out Harry's and I locked eyes with him. His brilliant green eyes were still wide, and he looked worried to answer.

"Yes." He finally said. There was an audible gasp in the room, though I couldn't figure out why. Wasn't it obvious? I mean, she attacked them both at the same time and then a few minutes later the store just happens to blow up? I mean, how much more obvious could it be?

_Not everyone thinks as quickly or logically as you, Love._

Fred's voice sounded in my head and I smiled at the familiarity of it. However, I quickly stopped smiling as the rage I felt towards Umbridge at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes came back full force. How dare she think she could mess with my family, with my man.

_Protective much? _Fred said, laughing lightly in my mind.

_Only when it comes to my stuff._

He squeezed my hand before replying. _Now you know how I felt-feel. _He looked down at me before glancing at George.

"What do you want us to do?" he asked simply, staring at Harry with trusting eyes.

"Shouldn't we start with figuring out what she's doing with that scabbard?" Verity asked. We all glanced at her before staring at Harry again.

"Yes, we'll start there." He said before turning towards Ron. "Did Michael see what the runes looked like?" Ron nodded his head while he dug around in his robes pocket. He pulled out a rumpled piece of parchment with runes on it. He held it out to Harry who grabbed it and looked at it briefly before handing it to me.

He smiled sheepishly before explaining. "I still can't read runes." I smiled softly before looking at the paper. "There welsh runes." I said as I looked at the marks. "_Caledfwlch."_ I said, trying to recall where I had heard that name before.

"Why have I heard that word before?" Verity asked no one in particular. I shook my head as I frantically fought to remember.

Oh no, it couldn't be that. Surely she didn't find it. Could it even be real?

"Excalibur." I breathed out in barely more than a whisper. Fred was the only one who heard me, but that was because he could hear my thoughts.

"Whoa." He said, sounding shocked. Everyone looked at us with clear worry.

"What?" George asked. "What did she say?"

Fred and I answered at the same time. "Excalibur."

"You mean King Arthur's sword?"Harry asked in disbelief. I nodded my head and began to explain.

"Excalibur had a scabbard originally. It was believed to have special powers of I'ts own. It could supposedly keep you from being injured-or heal you while you wore it."

"Blimey." George said, sounding somewhere between awe and horror. I felt exactly the same. On the one hand, it was incredibly cool to think that Excalibur had really existed. On the other hand, it was terrifying to think that she had that kind of power.

"The legend was that Morgan LeFay stole it from Arthur and threw it into a lake where it was never found again." I said, explaining the legend to everyone. I was probably the only person who had read lots of stories on Arthur and Merlin. I loved the idea of Camelot as a child and read all the material on it that I could get my hands on. I was so deep in my own thoughts that I didn't notice every one around me grow quiet. Fred slipped his hand in mine and squeezed it, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked, realizing Harry had spoken to me. He smiled patiently and repeated himself.

"Do you think it really had magical powers?" He asked. I scrunched my face up in thought and shrugged my shoulders slightly.

"I really don't know. I would imagine it probably had some powers. The lady of the lake gave Arthur Excalibur and she was a powerful witch."

"But how the bloody hell did Umbridge find it?" Ron asked. "I mean, Arthur ruled during the four hundreds. Wouldn't some one else have found it before now?"

'Yeah," Ginny agreed. "I'm having a hard time believing that Umbridge could find some mythical magical device that's been missing for centuries."

"Does seem a little far fetched doesn't it?" I asked, suddenly feeling unsure of myself. Maybe I had translated the runes wrong…

_None of that 'Mione._ Fred thought. _You know you got it right-don't let these dunderheads make you doubt yourself. Umbridge was anything but dumb, she managed to pull the wool over a lot of peoples eyes._

Fred was right, she was smart. What's worse is that she was evil and smart.

"No, I think it's very possible that she found it." Fred said, voicing his opinion out loud. "I mean, if nothing else she could have just kept going to different lakes and tried summoning charms, right?"

Oh Merlin, that was a possibility-why hadn't I thought of that? Looking around at the faces I could tell that I wasn't the only one who hadn't thought of it.

"Could it really have been that easy?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Why not?" George asked, sounding bemused. "Morgan wasn't a wizard, so if he was the one who threw it in then I don't see why it wouldn't have worked." He gave a soft chuckle. "Seems incredible doesn't it?" He asked, looking around at us. "We've all collected there Chocolate Frog Cards, but I don't think any of us ever seriously considered the idea of them actually living. The idea that we could actually find the objects they used in there legends." His eyes glistened over as he considered the possibility. I felt the same way. How incredible would it be if all the items really existed? If you could actually find Excalibur?

"Great Merlin's Beard!" Ginny exclaimed, looking at me with horror. "You don't think she's actually found Excalibur do you?" the panic in her voice was undeniable. Everyone else in the room froze as they turned to look at me. I smiled softly, setting them all at ease.

"No, the lady of the lake was a seriously powerful witch, she wouldn't have made it easy to get Excalibur back, if you can get it back at all." I tilted my head thoughtfully before continuing. "Plus, we'd most definitely know if she had found it-you couldn't hide that type of magic."

"Okay." Harry finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled over all of us. "I think the first thing to do is alert the rest of the DA about what we know. I'll set a group of Auror's on the lookout around places we hang out or work." He turned back to Ron. "Will you go find Neville and alert him? Also, put an alert out to the rest of the DA about not going anywhere alone." Ron nodded his head and disapparated, Harry was already continuing before the sound of his crack had faded.

"Okay, I need the rest of you to stay here, well, except you Lee. You're free to leave if you want." He turned back to us. "How was your attack?" We all stared at him and he had the decency to blush.

"I mean, was it worse than the ones we've been having." He looked at me, knowing I could feel what Fred was feeling. I nodded my head before answering.

"It was worse, she's definitely getting better." I said, clutching Fred's hand tighter in mine. He smiled down at me reassuringly before looking back up at Harry.

"It took Legilimency to free George from the thing." Harry nodded his head looking worried.

"This doesn't bode well for us. We've got the whole Wizarding community on red alert-as well as at least one Auror trailing all the DA members who aren't Auror's. I've notified all the families. I've had Hogwarts alerted so that they don't let anyone on or off the school grounds." He ran his hand through his hair, making it stick out in even more crazy directions.

"I don't know what else to do." He looked at us hopefully. "Any suggestions?"

"I've got nothing." I said with a sad voice at the exact same time that Ginny fell against the counter with a pained scream.

_A/N: Sorry about the cliffy, at least you know now why this fic is called "Legends" there will be more introduced before it's over... What do you think so far? Anyone having trouble following? Please let me know if you are. Any feedback is welcome._

_Thanks! And don't forget to read and Review!_


	12. Chapter 12

I've never seen Harry move faster. He caught her before I had even realized she was falling. He gripped her arms firmly and twirled her around so that she was leaning into his chest. Her eyes were closed tight and she had a pained look on her face before I lost sight of it. Fred and George both lunged forward at the same time, reaching her moments after Harry grabbed her. The three of them looked fit to kill Umbridge. I glanced over at Verity and then Lee, and the three of us moved forward at the same time. Harry had lowered himself and Ginny to the floor gently and he was rocking her in his lap. She was curling up into a ball and was trying not to scream in pain.

Fred and George were on their knees beside her and were holding her hand in both of theirs. She was crying earnestly by the time Verity, Lee, and I reached her. Harry was pulling her into his chest whispering comforting words into her ear as he frantically looked at us. His calm soothing tone gave away nothing of the clear panic he was feeling. It amazed me how he managed to do that, my voice was always the first thing to give away the way I was feeling. It grew squeaky and high when I was panicked, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. He was just speaking to her as if she'd done nothing more than scrape her knee.

She reached out for him, her hands grasping handfuls of his shirt as she pulled herself to him. She was sobbing now, great gut-wrenching sobs that made me want to break down crying as well. Fred and George were terrified, and their eyes were growing bright with unshed tears. I was having trouble controlling my own feelings at the sound of Ginny's sobs, but Fred's overwhelming sense of guilt and protectiveness were about to do me in.

"Ha-Harry!" She screamed in a broken voice. I waved my wand around the second she opened her mouth and cast Muffliato in hopes that the children wouldn't hear her.

"I'm here, love. I'm right here." He whispered to her, his voice never growing even slightly panicked. She didn't act as though she had even heard him, still crying against him. What was she seeing I wondered. It was clearly worst than my attack-I'd just bumped into Lux and Torry and I'd gotten out of it. I also had been aware of my surroundings.

Harry looked at me catching my eyes with his wide emerald green ones. I'd always been stunned by the vividness of his eyes-his mother must have been breath takingly beautiful with such vivid eyes. They made him look wise and innocent, an odd combination but one that really fit him.

"What do I do Hermione?" he pleaded, his voice finally betraying his desperation. I picked up his wand from where he had dropped it when he went to catch her and handed it to him. He grasped it in one hand, looking at me bewilderedly.

"What do I do?" he asked, still clutching his wand.

"Try Legilimency, it might break through to her." He nodded his head, looking down at her with obvious love and fear. He whispered the spell, and nothing happened. He raised his eyes and looked at me worriedly.

"Louder, harder." I told him. He nodded his head and turned back to his wife.

"Legilmence!" He roared. I jumped at the force of his spell and watched in awe as his eyes grew distant. His face grew firm and he tightened his jaw, looking the very essence of determination. A minute later he jumped and blinked, Ginny was still screaming and crying. Harry lifted his head and turned towards us, breathing heavy as though he had been fighting physically instead of mentally.

"Too strong, need help." He panted out. Fred and George grabbed their wands, belting out the spell at the same time that Verity and I picked up our wands. Lee pulled his from his jean pocket as Harry smiled apprecitavely at us before bellowing the spell with the three of us. I felt an odd sensation, like I was being pulled into a dark tunnel and all my senses were shutting down. Then, everything grew bright as I became aware of what Ginny was seeing. I turned my head and looked around at my surroundings. I was standing in front of Hogwarts, sometime during the battle.

I had no idea when this was during the battle. Everyone was standing out front of the castle, at the entrance. I didn't recognize anything, and then, as my eyes scanned the crowd, I noticed that this was during the time I was unconscious. Fred walked up behind me and grabbed my hand. He looked down at me and smiled softly. It was really weird, I couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling-I couldn't feel him at all. He stared at me really hard for a moment, and I realized he was thinking the same thing.

George, Harry, Lee, and Verity walked up beside us and stared at the scene unfolding before us.

"What's going on guys?" I asked as I saw a group of people dressed in black walking out of the Forest. Harry's eyes grew wide and George, Lee, and Verity looked like they were going to be sick.

"This is when Voldy brought Harry's 'dead' body to us." George answered for me. He glanced at Fred and me before turning his gaze back to the people walking towards us.

"But somethings different, Harry-you weren't held like that the first time." He finished. Harry nodded his head as the group reached us. Hagrid was holding Harry to his chest as he wept great tears of pain and loss. I knew Harry wasn't dead, but it broke my heart and made me want to join the scream of disbelief while Hagrid held the dead Harry to his heart. I watched in horror as Voldmort stepped forward, his eyes red and evil. A shiver of fear went down my back as I watched the very much alive Voldmort walk towards us. Fred wrapped his arm around me, partially blocking my view of what was going on.

"_NO!" _Professor McGonagall's scream was a rough, heart breaking sob that made me want to weep with her. I'd never heard my head of house make such a sound, such a heart felt sob. It cut me to the core and really made me realize the horror of the situation come alive. I felt like I was back in the battle, like Harry was really dead.

I didn't hear any noise, see any signal, but as one the crowd surged forward, running out on to the steps to see if it was true, to see if the boy who lived really was dead. I joined them, my heart hammering in my chest as I saw my best friends broken body laying in the arms of Hagrid. It was almost dawn, the first streams of light just breaking out over the horizon, and the ethereal light seemed to make Voldmort glow with an alien, evil, quality. Nagini was draped casually around his shoulders, her head leaning against his arm as he gently stroked her head with his long fingers.

Bellows of pain sounded from everywhere. Oaths to keep fighting were made, screams of pain were released, gasps of anguish burst forth from the crowd and my voice joined them.

"SILENCE!" Voldemort bellowed, flicking his wand casually, and there was a bang and a burst of light, and all grew quiet, well except me.

"It is over!" He said, smirking mirthlessly. "Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"

"You see?" Voldemort began to pace as Hagrid lovingly placed the broken body on the grass. "Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"

From the front of the crowd I saw Ron lung forward, his love and loyalty for Harry breaking the spell as though it had never been cast. "He beat you!" he bellowed. I felt a swell of pride and love for my second best friend as the rest of the crowd shouted with him.

Voldemort smiled cruelly as he cast another silencing charm.

"He was killed," continued Voldemort, "while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds. Killed while trying to save himself –" He was cut off before he finished because a blond haired boy had just run forward from the crowd. Neville Longbottom charged down the steps, racing for Voldmort, his wand raced high and his mouth opened in a soundless scream as he drew his wand back to strike.

There was another bang, a flash, and was blasted backwards, his wand flying from his hand. Voldemort laughed, then spoke mockingly. "Who has volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?"

Bellatrix's high, insane shriek of laughter rang clear and loud, chilling me to the bone. "It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?"

"Ah, yes, I remember…"

Neville rose to his feet, his eyes blazing. I had completely forgotten my purpose for coming here, I was so lost in the horrors of what I was watching.

"But you are a Pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?" Voldmort said, as though that should put Neville on his side.

Neville raised his head defiantly and squared his shoulders, standing nearly as tall as the dark wizard. "So what if I am?"

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."

Neville answered back without even a slight hesitation proving his right to the brave house of Gryffindor beyond a shadow of a doubt. "I'll join you when hell freezes over!" He yelled out, then, raising his arm in the air he let out what was clearly a battle cry. "Dumbledore's Army!"

An answering cheer rang out, the charm once again broken

"Very well…if that is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan. On your head be it."

I screamed in horror as he swung his wand. A window in one of the towers behind me shattered, and then Voldmort was holding the Sorting Hat

"There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts School," Voldemort said calmly. "There will be no more Houses. The emblem, shield, and colors of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom?"

He raised his wand again and cast the body bind on Neville, and then continued. "Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me." He then placed the hat on Neville's head and set it a blaze. Fred grabbed my arm, finally having reached me through the crowd and pulled me back as I screamed in horror. Neville caught on fire, his skin burning as he fell to the ground. This wasn't what was supposed to have happened, he was supposed to pull the sword out of the hat. He was supposed to live!

Fred pulled me back from the crowd and drug me towards the others.

"We can't help much Harry!" He bellowed, over the sound of screams and yelling. Harry looked at us in surprise, his eyes still scanning the crowd for Ginny.

"We don't know what actually happened!" Fred continued. "We were unconscious!" Harry nodded his head as he continued to search.

"Then help me find her-we'll deal with breaking this after that." He answered. We nodded our heads and scanned the crowds. A minute later George called out. We ran towards him and found him fighting to grab his sister. She was hitting him, screaming out for Harry. Harry ran faster than I've ever seen a person move and was by her side mere seconds later. He grabbed her in strong arms and forced her to stop hitting George. Fred and I reached her seconds later, and We stood in front of her, Verity and Lee joining us to help block her view of the battle. Harry forced her to look at him while everyone else grabbed hands. Lee, George, and Verity closed their eyes and suddenly the scene began to change. We were in the middle of a pile of rubble, and Harry and Voldmort were walking in a circle, their wands raised and pointed at each other.

Harry forced Ginny to watch, stroking her hair and whispering soothingly to her as the other Harry and Voldmort yelled out spells simultaneously. Voldmorts wand flew into the air with a loud explosion, as his body was blasted backwards. Harry, with the unfailing skills of a seeker, caught the falling wand in his hand and instantly pointed it to at Voldmort. There was no need to aim it though, Voldmort was dead.

The vision faded to black, and I suddenly felt myself drifting back to my body. I could feel Fred's emotions, and hear the comforting buzz of his thoughts in the back of mind.

"Harry?" Ginny questioned softly.

_A/N: Sorry about the delay in posting... I promise next chapter will deal more with actually trying to capture or at least finding Umbridge. Any feedback is welcome._

_Thanks! And don't forget to read and Review!_


	13. Chapter 13

I sat upright slowly. I had been slumped forward, leaning against Fred's back-it was a wonder he hadn't fallen over. The room was colder than the field had been, and it took me a moment to get used to the lighting change as well as the fact that I wasn't still at the battle of Hogwarts, that it had actually happened ten years ago.

I blinked my eyes, getting used to the fact that I could hear Fred again. He was still sitting in front of me so I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, wanting to feel him. It had been extremely disconcerting not hearing him, and I never wanted to go through it again.

_Neither do I, Love. _Fred thought to me. I smiled and nuzzled his neck lovingly before I remembered that we were in front of everyone and Ginny had just been attacked. I blushed to the roots of my bushy hair and pulled back. I leaned to my left too look around Fred and examined my best friend and best girl friend. She was hugging Harry back finally, and I couldn't see her face. I could see Harry's face though, and his eyes were swimming with tears as he gently rocked his wife. She was crying out something, but her words were all jumbled up and clogged sounding. Harry was shushing her and whispering comfortingly into her ear.

I glanced over at Verity, and she nodded her head slightly. She grabbed George's arm while I grabbed Fred's and looked over at Lee. I gave my head a quick jerk to the left and he nodded his head in understanding. The five of us stood up quietly, and tip toed out of the room, leaving the two of them to comfort each other.

I slowed down, letting Verity lead the group, and looped my arm around Fred's waist as he let his arm settle on my waist.

_That was scary, and hard. I didn't think I'd get so caught up in the battle._ I thought to him.

_I know, I didn't think about the fact that neither of us had actually seen the battle. I felt like I wasn't any real help, it wasn't like I could actually tell what was right and wrong. I didn't know. _He thought dismally. We reached the living room by now and we all sat down on the sofas. I sat on the end, with Fred next to me, and Lee sat on the other end. I snuggled into Fred's hold, savoring the warmth he seemed to leak. I was more than happy to leech heat of him.

I didn't answer his thought right away, and no one spoke for a long moment. Finally Lee let out a deep breath and looked around at us, a look between bemusement and worry on his dark face.

"Does this happen often with you guys?" his question had the desired effect, we all let out a tense, small laugh. It felt good to laugh, however awkwardly it may have been. I never really knew Lee before I married Fred, he was two years ahead of me and we had very little in common. He was Fred and George's best friend though, so I started to spend a lot of time with him once we got married. Verity, George, Angelina, Lee, Fred and I would triple date lots of time, occasionally Oliver Wood and Katie Bell would join us as well. He had a sweet personality, and a sense of humor to rival the twins.

Everyone relaxed a small bit and we began to talk. We discussed the idea of what was going on. What we would be able to do against Umbridge, and who would get to do what. We came up with some very fun ideas, most of them involving WWW products, and Centaurs.

We were laughing happily, and quietly. Fred, George, Verity and I enjoying our first real laugh in quite a long time. It felt so good to just laugh, to not stress out over every single thing. I had started feeling like I was back in fifth year again, and Umbridge was the raging tyrant that everyone was scared to death of defying. Laughing about what we could do helped remind me that she was no longer in charge, no longer in power.

This time she would be the one who got caught, she would be the one who got punished.

We'd been talking for at least twenty minutes when the door to the kitchen finally creaked open. Harry and Ginny emerged from it, he had his arms wrapped around her, and she had her arms wrapped across her chest. We all sat up straighter, instantly on alert. Her eyes were puffy from her tears, but she was smiling. She glanced over at us before looking at Harry again.

"Who's left?" Harry questioned as the kitchen door swung shut. Everyone looked at him cluelessly so I decided I must have been the only one to get what he was asking.

"You and Ron, at least I think that's it." I'd had it, Neville, Luna, Fred, George, and Ginny had all been attacked, that just left Ron and Harry. He nodded his head, looking worried.

"Anyone with Ron other than Neville?" George questioned, a look of concern on his face. Harry shook his head 'no' and George frowned. He checked his watch and furrowed his brow.

"It's getting late-shouldn't they be getting back here or reporting or something?"

"Not until six-they know to stay together though. Surely nothing to bad could happen, right?" Harry's question was met with an uncomfortable silence as everyone fidgeted in their seats.

"Harry," I said as gently as possible. "Perhaps you could send a patronus to him, just to warn him he will probably be next?" he nodded his head, apparently rather liking the idea. He grabbed out his wand and I heard a familiar whoosh come from behind me. I turned my head, wondering just what the noise was, when I saw green flames jet out of the fireplace. A moment later Neville stepped through and he was carrying an unconscious Ron.

Harry and I were the first to reach him. We helped Neville gently lower him to the couch while Ginny ran off to find Luna. We were all speaking at once, everyone asking what happened and how he lost consciousness. There were no obvious signs of injury and Neville looked completely unharmed.

Neville hadn't answered any of our questions yet, and as we arranged Ron on the couch our tempers began to grow shorter, and our voices louder. The door to the kitchen banged open and Luna came running into the room. She was by Ron's side in a second, clasping his limp hand in hers.

"What happened, Neville?" She asked, her dreamy voice holding only a hint of panic. It marveled me how she never lost her cool. I'd only ever seen her upset once, and that was when she'd been attacked.

Neville finally came to his senses at the sound of her voice and started to talk. "We were in the Ministry of Magic, we'd just updated Hopkins about the scabbard situation, when all of a sudden an explosion went off in Ron's office. We ran in to see what had caused it, when Ron suddenly started to scream as though someone were killing him. He started to thrash around, but there was still a fire in some places, and I couldn't hold him still, so I stunned him." His eyes had grown hard and calculating as he spoke. I could see him turning back into the leader of the DA, and right now we didn't need the cold, detached Neville that had lead the army, we needed the caring, smart Neville that was our friend.

"I think Umbridge was trying to kill him too." He finished. Harry stiffened beside me and I looked over to see his eyes grow dark with hate. He bunched his hands into fist before turning to me.  
"Take care of him Hermione. I'm going to go see what Umbridge has done." He then twisted before I could do anything and disappeared.

I turned to Fred desperately, thinking as fast as I could. _I have to get him, Love. You have to help Ron. I'll get Harry back, we can't split up right now. It took everyone of us to free Ginny, I can't imagine Ron will be any different._

He looked at me with wide eyes, I could feel his resistance to the thought of me leaving, but I'd already lost to much time. I stood up on my tip toes and kissed his cheek before I too apparated to the ministry of magic.

I could feel Fred's rage and worry the minute I landed in the Auror office. I ignored it, taking care not to block him out, while still not listening. My eyes swept the office quickly, people were running everywhere, in an obvious panic. Ron's office was no longer on fire, but I couldn't see Harry any where. Then I heard a roar, not like any beast I had ever heard before. I turned around slowly, feeling like I was in some sort of nightmare as I saw what had roared.

A gigantic creature as tall as the office was crouched in the corner of the room. It had the head and neck of a serpent, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion and the feet of a stag. That sounds really silly, but the thing was terrifying. Stories from my childhood came crashing back to me as I looked up into its huge fanged face. I knew exactly what the terrifying monster was. The Questing Beast, a monster from Arthurian legend.

Was everything about that era true? How many more surprises did I have to look forward too? My focus staid on the giant beast for only a moment before my gaze drifted to the floor at its feet. In a crumpled mass of robes and black hair, my very best friend was lying unconscious-his arm bleeding profusely from what looked like giant puncture wounds. My pulse started racing as my breathing quickened. I gripped my wand tightly in my hand and yelled the first spell that came to my mind as the giant monster raised its horrible head.

"ACCIO HARRY!" I screamed, backing up as I spoke. I hoped to Merlin the spell would work, because there wasn't any other way I'd be able to retrieve him. Amazingly, Harry's body flew across the floor and rammed into me, knocking me down. I untangled myself from Harry as quickly as I could, casting a feather light charm on him as I looped his arm around myself, and wrapped my left arm around his chest and then stood up. The monster was making his way towards me, crunching the desks beneath his feet as he went.

I gripped my wand tightly in my right hand, stumbling as I pulled myself and Harry back. I sent a silent stunner at the monster to no avail. I tried a body bind, also to no avail. I screamed another spell, causing the whole south end of the room to shake with the force of my explosion. The monster let out a great moan as he tried to stand up from where he had been knocked down. The explosion had caused his side to rip open, and he was bleeding copiously, yet still he continued towards us.

Up to this point I had done a smashing job of keeping my emotions in check, but now I started to panic. I needed a spell to stop him, and I needed to stop him now because I had just run out of room. My back hit the wall of the office, and he was now only about fifteen feet from Harry and me. So, with my back against the wall I cast the only curse I could think of, one I had berated Harry mercilessly for using.

"Sectumsempra!" I screamed, preparing to apparate. The spell had the desired affect and the Questing beast fell to the floor in a heap. I grasped Harry firmly in my arms and twisted, reappearing back in the living room of Grimmauld place. I fell to the floor in a heap as I lost my grip on Harry. He was still bleeding heavily, the sight of the crimson blood jogged my memory, and I recalled a deadly fact about the questing beast.

The bite of the questing beast was fatal, with no known cures. Not even Phoenix tears could cure it. Harry had three more days before the beast's poison would kill him.

_A/N: GMB (great Merlin's beard) I am so sorry about not posting earlier, i've been having computer troubles. Any way, here is the next chapter, and a little more of the 'legends'. Any feedback is welcome._

_Thanks! And don't forget to read and Review! They make my day and are the best!_

_Thanks for spotting the typo with Angelina's name!_


	14. Chapter 14

Panic overwhelmed me as I stared at my friend bleeding on the carpet. My blood froze and I felt myself start to hyperventilate. Harry was dying on the floor and I couldn't even find it in myself to move. I was once again frozen on the floor. My mind was racing through solutions, going over every Arthur story I knew. Nothing was standing out, I couldn't think of any cures.

Nothing had changed since I left. Luna was still clutching Ron's hand; Fred and George were still standing over him protectively; and Neville and Lee were standing behind the couch, looking lost and helpless. They all raised their heads at my loud and violent arrival, and then they were all moving towards me. Fred and George hefted Harry up, propping him up on the couch. Neville was casting spells on his arm, clearly trying to stop the bleeding. It wasn't working and he was growing worried. Lee ran out of the room in search of Ginny, who I believed had stayed with the children in place of Luna.

_'Mione!_ Fred nearly screamed at me. I jumped and listened to what he was trying to think to me. _What the heck happened? Are you alright? Why won't Harry stop bleeding?_ He pulled me into his arms as he thought, and started giving me a once over. I was bruised, but not really any the worse for wear. Apparently satisfied with my appearance he pulled me into a crushing hug. I had been frantically thinking through the stories, feeling panic overwhelm me until Fred had grabbed me in his arms. I instantly felt myself calm down and remembered that they still didn't know what had happened. I finally got my wits about me and responded.

"It was a Questing Beast, he'd already gotten Harry by the time I got there." I explained aloud. The door to the room burst open and Ginny came rushing in, Lee must have stayed with Hannah and the kids.

Her eyes scanned the room wildly until she saw Harry. She froze in her spot momentarily before racing forward. She grabbed his injured arm and pulled it to her chest, tears filling her eyes as she looked down at her husband.

"What's a questing beast?" Fred asked, continuing the conversation I had started before Ginny came in the room.

"It was a magical creature that was around in King Arthur's days. It supposedly went extinct shortly thereafter. They have really deadly venom, one bite will kill you. It has no cure, not even Phoenix tears." I said, tears falling down my eyes. Every one let out an audible gasp, and Fred tightened his grip around me. It was drowned out by an even louder scream of pain though.

We all whipped around to see Luna clutching Ron, who was very much awake, and in obvious agony. Fred and I moved to his side in an instant, holding him down while Luna tried to get his attention. He was screaming in pain and misery as everyone who was being attacked had. He was completely oblivious to Luna, not even showing signs that he could hear her.

Luna gripped her wand as I tightened my grip on Ron's arm. He was thrashing around like mad and Fred and I were having trouble holding him down. Luna used Legilimency and got a spacey look in her eyes.

_Ready?_ I asked Fred as I gripped my own wand. He nodded his head and we both cast the spell at the same time. I felt the overwhelming darkness and then I was hit by a bright light, and then it was dark again.

Ron was being led down into some sort of dungeon with Harry. It took me a moment to recognize it, but then I realized it was Malfoy manner. They were tossed into the dark depths of the dungeon and we followed them down. The room was uncannily dark, but I could see everything despite the encompassing darkness. Fred was standing behind me, Luna was walking over to Ron, but another Luna was lying on the floor. Dean was in the other corner next to Griphook, and Mr. Ollivander was by him. Ron was sitting up stiffly, Harry was just moaning on the floor. Ron had landed right next to Luna, who wasn't moving. According to Harry, she'd talked to them moments after they'd arrived, so why wasn't she talking now?

Ron laid his hand down next to him, and barely touched her leg. He pulled his hand back quickly, and then reached out to find the leg again. He groped around on the floor and then he found her hand. He started and ran his hand up her arm to her neck. His hand froze there and fumbled around till he arranged them over her pulse. Harry finally sat up and looked around the cell, apparently trying to figure out where everything was.

"No." Ron gasped, growing pale in the dark. His hand began to shake violently and he pulled Luna up off the floor and into his arms. She fell back against his arms limply and I finally realized what happened.

This Luna was dead.

Harry, clearly wondering what was going on, reached through the dark and found Ron's arm. Ron was crying now, rocking her back and forth as his sobs echoed around the dungeon. The real Luna was sitting in front of him, attempting to get his attention, but he wasn't listening. An ear splitting scream cut through the dungeon and I jumped at the sound of my own voice.

Fred was by my side in a second, turning me around so I was facing him and searching my face desperately. We had been cut off again, and I hated the feeling of being utterly alone.

"I'm fine." I told him as I pulled away from his grip. I grabbed his hand and dragged him towards Ron. We knelt in front of him and tried to get him to pay attention to us. He was determinedly avoiding the three of us, seeming oblivious to our presence. Harry was growing worried now and was sitting on his knees trying to see who Ron was holding. Another terrible scream sounded from upstairs, and then what could only be described as a dying moan, both from me. I felt Fred stiffen next to me as it sounded like I died upstairs. That was extremely disconcerting, hearing oneself die.

The door to the dungeon burst open as Ron and Harry both screamed out 'no.' A blinding light flashed and someone came running down the stairs. Hands grabbed Harry and pulled him away and out of the dungeon.

Ron laid Luna down and ran after Harry. The door slammed shut before he could reach him. A scream sounded minutes after he left and Ron began to scream in agony. He grabbed Luna again and began to rock again, sobbing into her hair. Luna, Fred and I all stared at each other for a moment before we ran to Ron's side again. Fred knew what had happened here because I had shown him the memory after we'd gotten married. So this time, we all knew what had really happened. We grabbed each other's hands and surrounded Ron. He was still holding the fake Luna. We all focused on what had really happened and tried to destroy the illusion Umbridge had created. We focused with all our energy, but nothing was happening.

"We're not strong enough!" Luna gasped, as we all fell to our knees. We needed more help. A faint pop sounded behind us and we all turned at once, breathing heavily. George, Ginny, Neville, and most surprisingly, Harry, appeared before us and strode up to us quickly, taking our hands.

"Harry showed us the memory, we know what really happens." George said as he took Fred's hand.

"Let's do this." Harry said as he turned towards Ron. My mouth was hanging open as I stared at my friend. He should be dying right now, not fighting. He caught my eyes, noticing me staring. "Later Hermione," he said quietly. "Let's save Ron right now." I nodded my head and we all turned back to Ron. We closed our eyes and focused on the real memory. The room began to shake and Ron's sobbing grew distant. I lost my balance and opened my eyes to keep from falling. Ron was gone, Luna, the fake one, was sitting up in the corner by Ollivander, a dreamy look on her face. The room grew hazy and I felt the familiar sensation of returning to my own mind.

I felt Fred's presence again as I blinked my eyes, letting them readjust to the rooms lighting. A pair of strong, familiar arms grabbed me and pulled me into Fred's chest.

_I thought you were dead for a moment. I never want to hear that again._ He thought fiercely as he hugged me. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek, reassuring him that I was alright. We turned back to see Ron sitting up slowly. He grabbed Luna to his chest immediately and sniffed as he kissed her hair. I looked around and saw everyone sitting by the couch, including Harry. He was leaning heavily on George, and was extremely pale, but he was awake and alive.

"How?" I questioned.

"Ginny stopped the bleeding, not sure how, but she did, and then they woke me up." He gasped, sweat dripping down his face from the effort of sitting up. George picked him up and carried him back to the couch. Harry kept right on speaking, completely oblivious to the glare Ginny was sending him.

"I had to help Ron, knew you'd need extra hands." He clutched his arm in his hand as he leaned back into the couch.

"Was that a questing beast?" He asked after he took a breath.

I nodded my head, smiling through the tears that were falling down my eyes. I don't know how he was up, but he was, and he was fighting. We'd save him, I knew we would.

"Questing beast?" Ron questioned wetly behind us. I turned around and explained what happened as quickly as I could. His eyes widened when I told him about the poison and he looked ready to faint. Luna tightened her grip around him and turned towards me.

"So what are we going to do to save him?" She asked me, as though we were discussing nothing more serious than what shoes to wear.

"Umm." I started, nothing coming to my mind. Everyone was staring at me now and it was making me uncomfortable. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, probably looking a great deal like a fish, and then I heard an extremely faint sound. I whipped my head around to the door and swung it open with my wand. Lux and Torry both fell forward, landing on the living room floor in an ungraceful heap, extendable ears dangling from their hands.

"What," I said, forcing my voice to stay calm. "Do you think you two were doing?" I stood up as I spoke and walked towards them, my hands on my hips and a serious frown on my face. Fred was right behind me, no doubt looking just as serious. So that by the time we reached our sons they were looking extremely nervous.

"Talk now." I said as we picked them off. They glanced at each other quickly before turning back to us.

"We were eavesdropping mother." Torry said.

"We heard Uncle Ron scream and Aurora began to cry. Nobody would tell us what was going on, and we wanted to see what happened." Lux finished a defiant look on his young face.

Ron got up from the couch and left the room in a flash, no doubt searching for Aurora. Luna followed him quickly out of the room.

"Mum, dad?" Lux questioned, drawing our attention back to him. "What are you going to do to help Uncle Harry?"

For the first time in my life I had no idea how to answer my child.

The bite of the questing beast was fatal, with no known cures. Not even Phoenix tears could cure it. Harry had three more days before the beast's poison would kill him.

_A/N: Okay, here is my next chapter. About Ginny being Hermione's best girl friend, I personally believe Ginny would be. Hermione never got along really well with any of the girls in the book until she became friends with Ginny. They may not have talked alot in the books, but most of the times they would have talked to each other Harry wouldn't have been present (like in there room or when theyere doing chores for Mrs. Wesley). Also, I agree that Luna is Ginny's best friend. Anyway, just thought I'd explain that bit._

_Thanks! And don't forget to read and Review! They make my day and are the best!_


	15. Chapter 15

Fred, knowing I didn't have any idea how to answer answered for me.

"We're going to heal him." He said, bending down so he was the same height as the twins. He looked from one to the other, a smile forming on his face with incredible ease. Lux visible relaxed at his father's words and him and Torry both took a small step forward. They looked past Fred and me to Harry, whom Neville and George were helping to sit up.

Harry, probably knowing the kids were worried, nodded his head at the twins. They ran up to the couch and grabbed Harry in a hug, one on either side. He hugged them back and lovingly rubbed their backs.

"It's alright guys, it'll take more than a monster to do me in." Torry leaned back, smiling up at Harry as he did so, and laughed.

"Yeah, you're the boy who lived!" He exclaimed. Harry smiled broadly and nodded his head.

"That's right." He replied. Lux finally let go of his Uncle and looked up at his face, tilting his head as he did so.

"There's a beetle in your hair Uncle Harry." He said simply. Torry nodded his head in agreement and reached up to grab the offending bug. It was a large, fat, acid green beetle with little marks around its antennas. I stared at the bug in shock for a moment before I dove across the room for it.

I scared Torry as I did so and he dropped the 'beetle.' She flew up in the air and sped towards the fireplace, reaching it seconds before I did. She flew up the chimney and out of the house, leaving me behind covered in soot, and thoroughly panicked.

"What's going on?" Lux asked, sounding worried. I turned back to Harry, who was looking at me with dawning horror.

"No way." He said, disbelief evident in his voice.. I nodded my head.

"Rita." I said simply.

"Whoa." Neville said raising his hands. "Are you talking about Rita Skeeter?" he asked, stepping towards the fireplace.

"Yes, the one and only sleazy Rita Skeeter." I said, stepping back from the fireplace so Neville could get at it. A horrifying thought occurred to me and I turned back to Harry.

"And we just let her in oe the fidelius charm." I whispered. Harry's eyes grew even wider and he clutched Lux and Torry to his chest.

"How long had she been here?" he started questioning. "How much could she have heard?"

"She probably came when I brought you back from the questing beast." I answered, walking towards Fred. He understood my silent plea for comfort and wrapped his arm around me.

"So what, she heard about the questing beast?" George said. "And then she saw us helping Ron, that's all right?" Harry nodded his head, not that he would know, he was unconscious during everything we said.

"You don't think she was working with Umbridge do you?" Neville asked suddenly, turning extremely pale. Ginny dropped the blanket she had been holding, and Fred had to grip me tighter to keep me from falling down. Neville had to be right, Skeeter was working with Umbridge, and she would now know where we all were. I turned to Fred and was met with the same feelings of horror and look of worry. We turned back towards Harry and ran forward, grabbing our kids. Fred picked up Lux and I picked up Torry, we then both turned back towards the kitchen door and ran through it, looking for Rose, Winnie and Gideon. The rest of the gang followed us out of the room, and we all raced for the dining room where Verity, Hannah, Lee, and Kreacher were keeping the kids. We burst through the door and scanned the room in less than a second. Our other three kids were all there, as well as the rest of the children, Luna, Ron, Hannah, Verity, Lee, and Kreacher. They looked up in surprise as we all piled into the room and went to our respective children.

George ran up to Verity and explained, while Neville started explaining to Hannah, everyone started speaking at once, and no one was learning anything on account of it.

"Quiet!" Harry bellowed in a loud strong voice, starkly contrasting his pale and weak body. Everyone stilled instantly and we all turned towards Harry. He gripped the back of a chair as he swayed dangerously before continuing in a quieter, but still strong voice.

"Okay, we've just discovered that Rita Skeeter stowed away on me and is now inside of the Fidelius charm. For anyone not aware of it she is a beetle animagus." He said, realizing not everyone knew about her form. "Now, we don't know for sure, but it is possible she's working with Umbridge." He held his hands up to quiet the others before they could voice their shock. "Right now we need to decide what to-"he stopped short and swayed dangerously again, turning even paler. He looked like a ghost he was so pale. He brought his arm to his chest and bit back a moan of pain. He fell against the chair before I could reach him. Half a second later Ron was beside him, holding him up and supporting him. Harry took a deep breath and leaned heavily on Ron, who was looking slightly panicked. After another deep breath Harry spoke again, despite Ginny trying to shush him.

"What to do. Whether or not to stay here." He finished quietly, his voice hoarse. James, Albus, and Lily looked extremely worried about their dad and were clutching Ginny's hand desperately. The table was silent with thought and worry as Ron helped Harry sit down in the chair he had been clutching. A faint noise sounded from out of the room and all of us, froze.

It was a noise I hadn't heard since my fifth year, a petite laugh. The same laugh that had haunted my nightmares that year. The same laugh that had sounded anytime she caught a student breaking her precious 'order.' The unmistakable laugh of Umbridge had just come from the room behind us.

I looked around the room in a high panic and saw every adult return my same terrified gaze. Harry was breathing heavily and leaning his head against the chairs back. He looked like he was having to put up a serious fight just to stay conscious. He was clutching James to his chest with what little strength he had. He caught my eyes and nodded to me, I somehow just knew he was telling me to take over. I grabbed Rose and Winnie, while the other adults grabbed what hands they could reach, and a moment later everyone was holding someone else's hand so that we were all connected in one giant circle. Every eye moved to me and I nodded my head, forcing myself to remain calm the door behind us blew open. My eyes barely caught the sight of green flames before I closed them tight and apparated every single one of us to the kitchen of the Burrow. We landed with a loud crack and the children, not being used to apparating, fell over, pulling us down with them. We ended up in a huge pile of limbs and hysteria.

Ron stood up first, pulling Harry up with him. He'd lost consciousness during the trip so Ron had to carry him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley appeared at that moment, eyes wide and mouths gaping.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she took in the sight of us standing and helping our children up. Ron answered before anyone else could.

"Umbrdige found the house." He said quickly, stepping forward with Harry. "We'll explain how later, right now I need to lay Harry down." He rushed past Mrs. Weasley, Ginny immediately behind him and in a billow of robes they were gone. I started to follow them out of the room but as I turned towards the door I saw Winnie standing next to Fred with big tears in her little eyes. My heart clenched and I was by her side in an instant.

I picked her up and hugged her to my chest, rocking her back and forth. Fred had Gideon in his arms and met my eyes from across the room.

_What should we tell them? Their all really scared._ I asked him as I rubbed little Winnie's back. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had decided against questioning us at that moment, helping us to calm the children down instead. The older siblings, having an inkling of what was going on, started to help us. Going up to the younger ones and calming them so that a few minutes later we had everyone quieted down.

Fred finally answered my thought. _I think we should tell mum and dad the truth, however we should probably put everyone but our little Marauders in the playroom with Kreacher._

_I agree._ I thought back quickly. I summoned the elf over to me. He peered up at me with his large eyes, a disconcerted expression on his face. He had grown over his prejudice of me a long time ago, and we had become good friends.

"Kreacher, could you take all the children but Torry, Lux, Alex, Alexa, Aurora, James, and Trevor upstairs for a little bit?" He smiled happily and nodded his head.

"Oh yes Ma'am. Kreacher will watch the children." He then proceeded to shoo the children upstairs. I smiled softly as I watched the house elf herd the children. He'd been a greater blessing than anyone else probably could have foreseen.

"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley demanded the minute the children disappeared into the playroom.

"Skeeter stowed away on Harry, and we brought her into Grimmauld place. She then proceeded to tell Umbridge. We heard her laughing and apparated here as fast as we could." George answered as quickly as he could. Mr. Weasley glanced towards the door where Ron had taken Harry before returning his gaze to us.

"What happened to Harry?"

I answered that, stepping forward and next to Fred. "He got bitten by a questing beast." I explained. They both visibly paled and Mrs. Weasley brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle her gasp of horror.

"No." They both whispered. Tears filled my eyes again as I nodded my head. James looked back and forth between the three of us, clearly at a lost.

"What's going on with my dad? What's a questing beast?" He asked, trying not to sound as scared as he felt. I knelt down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder, trying my best to hold back my tears.

"It's a nasty monster, one from the days of Merlin. It's extremely poisonous." His eyes grew big and shot towards the door.

"Is it going to kill him?" He whispered. His voice was so fragile and scared sounding that I couldn't stop myself from hugging him.

"No love, we won't let anything happen to your father."

Aurora stepped forward and looped her hand through James', smiling at him just like her mom used to do to Harry when the weight of everything became just a little too much to bear.

"Don't worry, James. They probably have a plan." She turned to me, her blue eyes bright and trusting. "Don't you?"

I paused for a second, frantically communicating with Fred. He was extremely unhelpful and had no idea how to answer.

"Mum, Dad?" Torry questioned, stepping forward. I wrenched my eyes away from Aurora and turned towards my son.

"Yes?" I asked, grateful for the distraction.

"Why don't you just take the scabbard from Umbridge?" Torry asked.

"Yes, if it heals its bearer, than it should heal Uncle Harry." Lux finished.

_A/N: GMB! I am so excited! Just a few more hours and I'll be seeing the Deathly Hallows :D I'm going to be dressed up as Hermione and my husband is going as Fred, he's even died his hair red. _

_Thanks for your thoughts and comments guys, And don't forget to read and Review! They make my day and are the best!_


	16. Chapter 16

There is nothing as thrilling, and humbling, as having your child come up with a brilliant idea you never thought of. Lux grew quiet as both Fred and I stared at him in shock.

"I just mean that if it really works it might help Uncle Harry." He said, sounding embarrassed. I shook my head and smiled at him, finally getting over my shock.

"That's brilliant Lux!"I exclaimed. He smiled unsurely, looking from me to Fred.

"You know." Fred said offhandedly. "That really might actually work. We'd just have to find her."

A bellow of pain sounded from the living room and I recognized it immediately as Harry's voice. I turned and ran from the room, wanting only to help my best friend. I had barely made it through the door when I heard another shriek of pain come behind me. I turned to see Luna falling to the floor, her hands clutching her head as she started to weep.

Not again.

Neville, rushing forward to help her slipped and fell to the floor, clutching his own head as he fell. A scream escaped his lips and not five seconds later George had fallen as well. Verity moved towards him, face full of worry as she watched her husband drop she hadn't taken two steps before she too fell. I met Fred's eyes from across the room and immediately connected our thoughts, allowing him complete access to my thoughts, while I read his. I opened the connection not a moment too soon, because the minute I did I suddenly felt a memory trying to surface. Fred blocked it off quickly, forcing the memory of what really happened to stay firmly before my eyes. Half a second later I did the same thing to Fred, forcing the real memory of George's accident to stay in his mind.

We moved across the room to each other, grabbing the other in a hug when we reached each other. The feel of his warm body in my arms dulled the fake memory and I felt it let go of its hold on my mind. Fred relaxed in my arms and I knew the same thing happened to him. I became aware of what was going on around me again and heard everyone else screaming in pain. The children were beginning to understandably panic, and I acted with out thinking. I shot silent, quick stunners at all the fallen adults, signaling for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to stay calm. Hannah stepped forward, grabbing her now unconscious husband, a reproachful look on her fair face.

I turned around quickly and cast Muffliato at the living room where Ron, Harry, and Ginny were crying in pain and sorrow. Fred was already acting, levitating the others and moving them into the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had gotten over their momentary shock and were rounding the panicking children up. I let Fred take the adults as I knelt in front of the children. Hannah was right behind me, looking like she was trying not to panic. I gave her a look and pointed towards the living room. She nodded her head and ran into the other room.

"Do you remember us telling you guys that Umbridge was attacking us?" they nodded their heads, looking worried.

"Well she's doing it again. We need you guys to stay in here while we go take care of everyone, can you do that?" They nodded their heads again and I gave them each a hug before standing and joining my husband in the other room.

He'd knocked everyone unconscious and had them all laid out. Hannah was standing over Neville, a look of hurt on her face. My eyes drifted around the room and took in all the unconscious figures. I glanced at Verity before moving on to George, and then I froze.

Why had Verity been knocked out? She hadn't been part of the DA, nor had she been in that room with the rest of us. She shouldn't have been hurt-she hadn't affected Umbridge's regime in any real way. She'd spoken out at least once, evident by the scars on the back of her hand, but she hadn't done anything extremely rebellious.

Having just laid Ginny down by Harry Fred sat back on his haunches before looking over at me.

"Who should we try and wake up first?" he asked, eyeing the group with worry. I forced my thoughts away from what I had been thinking and glanced over at Fred.

"Umm, I think George or Neville would be easiest. " I glanced at the two unconscious faces before looking back at Fred.

"What do you think?"

He snorted before answering. "Obviously I'm going to pick George, he is my twin." Good point there, that would be like asking me if I wanted to wake up Harry or Neville first.

"What about you Hannah, you alright with waking George first?" she leaned down and gave Neville a gentle kiss on his temple before coming to stand next to George.

"Let's do it." She said quietly, gripping her wand. She pointed it at Geroge's head before letting out a shriek and grabbing her head in pain. I stunned her as quickly as I could, my face losing all color as Fred grabbed her before she could hit the floor.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" He asked as he laid her down by Neville. "She shouldn't have been attacked!" he rounded on me, fear in his blue eyes. He looked over at his twin with obvious worry before his eyes drifted to Verity.

"She should have been either." He said quietly, a look of shock on his face.

"No, neither of them should have." I answered quietly. He raised his eyes to meet mine and I held his piercing gaze.

"What now?" he asked softly. I lowered my gaze back to George.

"We try and free them. We should start with George, he'll be easiest to do because of the bond you two share." Fred nodded his head stiffly and knelt beside his twin, grabbing hold of his hand. I grabbed hold of his other hand and took George's other hand in my own. I closed my eyes and focused on Fred's connection with George while he did the same thing. After a moment, with my added strength the bond widened and I became aware of what George was seeing. It was the same vision as last time.

I ran up to George, Fred leading the way, and we grabbed him in a hug. He wouldn't look at us, or even acknowledge we were there as he held Verity's broken body in his hands. He was weeping openly, and seeing his face broken and in tears made my heart constrict painfully. Fred was shaking him, desperately trying to get his twin to look at him.

"Georgie, come on brother, it's me. It's Freddie, come on look at me Georgie." He kept pleading with his twin to look at him, but it was like George couldn't hear him this time.

I grabbed his other side in a hug and tried to force him to look at me. He was having none of it, his eyes firmly locked on the body of his dead twin and his arms firmly encircling Verity.

"How did you two get here?" A high pitched, sugary sweet voice asked over our shoulders. I met Fred's eyes over George's head before turning around to stare at the last person I expected to see.

"Umbridge." I said, letting all the venom I could manage into my voice. Fred grabbed his brother protectively while I stood, pleased to note that I now towered above the evil witch.

"How did you two escape the vision?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

If I hadn't been so shocked to see her I probably would have laughed at her, actually thinking I would answer her question. Fred had stood up by now, and walked in front of his brother and next to me, his eyes murderous.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned. I had never heard his voice so low or angry, it sounded sharp enough to actually kill.

"I came to finish him off." She answered with a tinkling laugh. "But you've just made me decide to change my plans. It would be much more fun to leave them like this-I've fixed the problems I had. The vision can't be broke anymore." Her mouth spread in a cat like grin as she took a step back. "Good bye." She then turned and made to leave. Fred charged forward, running after her with amazing speed. I gripped George's wand up off the floor, and praying this would work, focused on the fact that I was holding my real wand in my real hand back at the Burrow. I focused all my energy on that thought before raising George's dream wand and casting a spell at Umbridge with all my strength. She laughed when it hit her squarely on the back, and then she disappeared.

"NO!" Fred bellowed, falling to his knees in defeat at the spot Umbridge had disappeared. I ran up to him and pulled him into a tight hug. He turned towards me and grabbed me to him, burying his head in my curls as he broke down and began to weep. I held him to my chest and rocked him, stroking his hair and whispering comfortingly to him. I couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling and it was unnerving me. I needed to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling. He was shaking at the force of his tears as he held onto me.

"Shh, it's alright love, it will be okay." I told him over and over, again and again. He finally stopped sobbing and pulled back slightly. His eyes were puffy and red, tears still leaking out of them as he stared at me.

"How can you say that it will be alright? What are you thinking?" he asked, searching my face desperately. I allowed a small smile to lift my lips as I gently pushed the hair out of his eyes.

"Because I just hit her with a tracing charm. If it worked like I think it should, we'll be able to finally find her."

_A/N: Deathly Hallows was a lot of fun :D We got a lot of looks, and some people actually smiled and said they were Hermione/Fred shippers. It was cool, I even had some people tell me that they liked the idea of that couple, we may have one some over to this ship._

_There aren't that many chapters left for this story... I'm going to miss it when it's done, this has been a lot of fun to write :D _

_Thanks for your thoughts and comments guys, And don't forget to read and Review! They make my day and are the best!_


	17. Chapter 17

His arms dropped from my side and I found myself worrying. His eyes widened and a shocked look came over his face. What was he thinking? What was he feeling? Was he mad, upset? Did he think I was insensitive?

Argh! I needed to get back in my own body, and connected back to my husband.

"What?" I asked, my voice tense with worry. "Is it a bad idea? I thought we could find her that way and get the scabbard at the same time. I'm sorry…" I broke off at the end. I hated this alone feeling. He was crying again and I had no idea what to do. Fred didn't cry, he never broke down in front of anyone. I'd only seen him cry a few times, when we had just gotten married, when we had our children, and when Umbridge had attacked him. I looked at his tear filled eyes and gave myself a firm mental shake. I'd comforted people before I was connected, and I'd managed to comfort others after words with out knowing what they were thinking or feeling. I knew this man better than any one besides his twin.

I reached over and pulled him into a hug, rubbing small circles in his back as I whispered comfortingly to him.

"It's alright, Love. We're going to save him, we're going to save them all." I could still hear George sobbing behind me and I realized that was just making matters worse. I grabbed Fred's waist and tugged him up so that we were both standing. I moved my hands so they were on either side of his face, forcing him to look at me.

"I need you to get us out of George's mind, we can't help him in here, not yet." He nodded his head stiffly, tears still pouring from his vivid blue eyes. I grabbed him around the waist, leaning into him in a crushing hug as the world around me started to fade. A moment later I found myself lost in the comforting feeling of Fred's mind. I could feel him again, and I nearly cried at the relief of it. I opened my eyes to find myself back in the Burrow's living room. Fred and I were holding each other in an embrace over the top of George, who was no longer conscious.

_Thanks._ Fred's voice sounded in my head. I just hugged him tighter and gave him a kiss on the lips.

_What's say we never break our bond again? I'm getting tired of trying to guess your thoughts and I hate being alone._ I thought back to him. He smiled against the kiss before deepening it. This was probably not a good time, but I needed to feel him. We kissed frantically for a moment, before we finally broke apart. I slumped against him, letting him hold me up. As I just reveled in the fact that I could hear him, feel him, and hold him.

"When all this is over, I still owe you a anniversary dinner." He said, his voice somewhat lighter than it had been. I chuckled against his chest before I finally pulled back from him and looked him in the face. He was pale, and looked like it had been awhile since he'd had a decent nights sleep, but then, we all pretty much looked like that.

"Should we tell your parents we're leaving, or just go?" I asked, gripping my wand in my hand. He looked down at George's face with a frown. His eyes were closed and if I hadn't known better I would have thought he was simply sleeping.

"Get ready to go, I will tell mum and dad." He rose to his feet as he spoke and looked at me with caring eyes before he went out the door. It stayed open, as though stuck. I rose to my feet to get it, but stopped, the children weren't any where to be seen, so I didn't have to worry about them. I decided to just get my stuff together and leave the door open. I turned towards Harry and felt his forehead. He was really warm, but otherwise he looked okay. I checked his bandage and cast a cleaning charm on them. By the time I was done with him Fred came back in the room.

"Ready?" he asked softly, walking up to me and taking my hand. I nodded my head and gripped my wand.

I looked at Fred and dropped his hand, wrapping my arm around his waist instead. He gripped my waist as well, and then I twisted into the air, and we were off.

We landed in the middle of the forest of Dean, and it caused a very bad sense of déjà vu with me. I hadn't been here since the Horcrux hunt. A thump sounded behind us the second we landed and it caused us both to jump and spin around. In the middle of the trees were a single pair of floating feet, which promptly disappeared. I recognized the shoes with a sinking feeling. I gripped my wand tightly in my hand and leaned down, grabbing at the air and coming up with a fistful of a very familiar invisibility cloak. Underneath the invisibility cloak were seven small figures.

"What are you doing here, and how did you get here?" I whispered fiercely as Torry, Lux, Alex, Alexa, Aurora, James, and Trevor stood up from the ground. Umbridge could be around any corner and they had followed us? They could be in serious danger, we were all in serious danger! Panic and anger and fear started to overwhelm me as I stood over my children. Fred grabbed my arm, pulling me back and calming me down.

_They grabbed hold of my leg before you apparated. They must have stolen Harry's cloak. _

_Is that supposed to calm me down? These are my babies, I can't let them stay!_

_There my babies to Love._

_No, you didn't have those children._

He actually smirked at that, his eyes and mouth betraying the mirth he felt.

_Actually, I'm probably the only guy in the world who can say that I know how it feels to give birth. Remember, I know when you're in pain, and we share it. I felt every contraption, everything you went through I went through._

Oh, that's right. I glared at him before turning back to the children.

"Talk, now!" I said, still talking quietly. I didn't know where, but Umbridge was sure not to be too far away.

James stepped forward, a bold look on his young face. "It was my idea. I wanted to see what was going on, so we distracted Grandma with a dungbomb, and slipped into the living room. Torry was the one who knew about apparating, and he grabbed your leg Uncle Fred." His brown eyes filled with tears as he stared up at me beseechingly.

"We just want to help Aunt 'Mione." He finished. The other children had gotten over some of their fear and walked up behind James, their faces set and their stances determined. They were all so young, so innocent-I couldn't let them do it, I couldn't put them in harms way.

I handed James back the invisibility cloak before speaking. "Hide under the cloak again. I can't send you back yet, but I don't want you seven to move from this spot. Fred and I are going to go and take care of some business, and then we are going to come back. You are not to move or fight, or do anything. Do you understand me?" I asked, my voice was firm and I was forcing myself to look strict. They nodded their heads stiffly, looking worried.

Torry grabbed hold of the invisibility cloak and threw it over the others before he climbed underneath it. I couldn't believe it was big enough to hid all of them, but then again, it had fit Harry, Ron, and me under it, and we had been taller. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts and drawing my mind back to what we were doing.

_Okay, I'm going to activate the tracing charm, I used it to apparate here, but now I'm going to use it to actually locate her. I need you to watch my back._

_Right, will do 'Mione._

I smiled softly as I activated the charm. My wand began to hum softly and I ran it back and forth like one would a metal detector. It hummed harder when I pointed it to the left, so I went in that direction, moving my wand and following where it hummed hardest. Fred walked right behind me, his wand raised and ready to hex anyone who wasn't friendly.

_We need to disarm her or remove the scabbard from her first. We can't actually injure or stun her so long as it's in her possession. _I thought softly as the humming grew ever stronger. He nodded his head softly, eyes still scanning the forest for any life.

_Stop._ He thought suddenly. I did and he pointed his wand towards a tree. I stared at it for a long moment, and then I noticed a shadow that shouldn't have been there.

_Umbridge?_ I asked.

_I think so._ He answered.

_I'm going to use bombarda, you get ready to disarm her._

_Right._

I raised my wand in the air and thrust it forward as though I was stabbing something. 'Bombarda' I thought fiercely. A bright light flew from my wand and the tree blew apart in an explosion of fire. Umbridge's small figure dived to the right and a moment later she was standing, her wand aimed and firing hexes. Spells started flying everywhere as we both returned fire. She was amazingly fast, firing hexes so fast that it was taking all my focus just to avoid being hit. Fred was having the same trouble, and it was amazing we hadn't fallen yet.

Spell after spell I sent at her, yet she just kept dodging them, I couldn't figure out how, maybe the Scabbard was giving her extras power? Either way, I couldn't keep fighting like this for long, I was tiring out quick. I hadn't slept in a while, and it had been forever since I'd actually had a good night rest, that plus all the stress of the last few days was making my reflexes slow down. I shot a reducto at her, and barely missed, but she got me with an impedimenta. I flew backwards at the force of the spell and landed against a tree. My head hit the trunk and I saw stars for a moment. However not even a second later I felt the pain lessen by half as it spread to Fred. I hated that part of our bond. I didn't want him to get hurt just because I got hurt-I liked it when I shared his pain, but didn't want him feeling mine.

I rose up as quickly as I could, feeling a sharp pain in my side before it to faded. I lowered my eyes to my side starting in mild shock as I saw blood soaking through my robe. Something had slashed me, and I was losing blood fast. I closed my eyes and forced my self to calm down before snapping them open again and returning fire at Umbridge. I sent stunner after stunner, but I was draining faster than before. Fred was trying to pick up the slack, but he could only do so much. Umbridge was fighting with almost supernatural strength. I sent a blast at her and tripped over a limb, falling to the ground and losing my wand as a curse flew over my head.

"MOM!" Two voices yelled from behind me and I felt my heart stop as my sons, and the rest of the children ran into the clearing.

Umbridge let out a loud, cruel laugh as she raised her wand towards our children.

_A/N: Okay, not much left, I'm starting to feel sad :(. I am __Currently writing a George/Hermione fic too, check it out if you like the ship :)_

_Thanks for your thoughts and comments guys, And don't forget to read and Review! They make my day and are the best!_


	18. Chapter 18

The sound of my babies screaming caused a monster to rise up with in me.

Things started going in slow motion. Umbridge raised her wand as I stood up, running in front of my children. My side was throbbing and my vision fading, but I would not let my children get hit. I would die before I saw them hurt. I was screaming in unhindered rage as I flew in front of them, before I was hit in the chest by a powerful spell. I flew up into the air and hit the ground with a resonating thud. My breath was knocked out of my chest and my side flared up in blinding pain as I gasped for air. Darkness threatened to over take me, and I had to fight to stay conscious. I could hear Fred's voice in the back of my mind, urging me up and fighting to block the pain. I finally managed to breath and the pain got infinitely better.

I hated that he had to share my pain, but for the moment I was glad of it. it let me get up much faster. I jumped back up, running to my sons. They were screaming my name in horror as Umbridge walked up to them slowly, a murderous look in her ugly eyes. Fred was sending a constant stream of spells at her, as she sent a constant stream at him. He was running around faster than I'd ever seen a person move as he tried to get to our sons.

I lunged towards them, knocking them down just in time as a spell blew up over my head.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I whispered fiercely as I covered them with my body. I was still wandless, but I'd be hard to get through, I still had my body. I'd hit her till she killed me, and killing me was the only way she'd get to my babies. They were trying to mumble something, but I'd shoved their heads into the dirt when I landed on them. I wiggled momentarily, freeing their heads. They took deep ragged breaths, coughing gratefully as the regained their ability to breath.

Umbridge was still walking forward, maddeningly slowly, she was walking and still managing to keep Fred nearly overwhelmed with spells. I had to get up, I had to help him, had to get my babies out of here.

An explosion sounded behind me and I clutched the boys to me, hiding them under my body as well as I could. She'd be here any minute, I had to think, there had to be a way…

Another explosion occurred to my right, making me clutch them even tighter. They were saying something, but I couldn't hear them. A roar of anger was filling my ears as I pulled them under me. Another explosion sounded, further ahead of us, and a comfortingly familiar scent filled my nose, instantly reminding me of countless days at Hogwarts, at the Burrow, and most recently, at my own home in the flat above WWW.

It was a dungbomb.

I lifted my head in shock, my brain cutting through my panic and finally freeing up as I saw another bomb fly from the forest towards Umbridge. The children, the rest of them were still hidden, they were fighting!

Umbridge had recognized the smell and a horrible snarl filled her face as she turned towards their source. She raised her wand and I was screaming before I even thought. Umbridge flinched at the sound, but cast the spell anyway.

It was the worst thing she could have done. The children had already moved, almost all of their parents were Auror's, they knew how to fight and defend themselves, we'd made sure of that. We had grown up in fear of the worst wizard in history. Even if we never told them who he was, we made sure they could fight and protect each other and their younger siblings. We didn't know what could happen, death eaters were always making threats at us.

Umbridge snarled in rage as she realized that she was a moment too late to hit them. Fred had taken her momentary distraction and ran up to me, tossing me my wand as he did so. Umbridge realized her mistake a second to late and turned towards us, sending a spell towards us lightning fast.

"PROTEGO!" A young voice yelled. I stared down in shock, Torry was holding a wand, one I recognized as George's. The shield expanded in front of us and deflected the spell, making Umbridge yell in fury.

Fred and I both acted at the same time, sending spells immediately, giving her no time to prepare. I was talking so fast to Fred, and he was responding so fast, that we couldn't even form full thoughts; it was like our mind was merging into one. We were thinking together. We moved as one, our bodies performing a deadly dance as we jumped and dodged, shooting spells simultaneously and defending our children and each other.

Lux, who was also holding a wand, I couldn't tell whose, began firing spells, I'd no idea where he learned them, but he was moving with Torry, the two of them fighting almost as seamlessly as Fred and me. The dung bombs also kept coming, but they were joined with other items, a Whiz-bang rocket, potions I didn't recognize, candies that caused her to stick to the floor, pellets that blew up in colorful smoke, and items that made terrible ruckus.

The combined attack was proving too much for her. We were getting closer, and she was slowing down, her inhuman strength fading at the joint attack.

We pressed our lead, never letting up, shooting spell after spell, missile after missile. She wouldn't last much longer, she'd have to fall. We weren't harming her by spells, we were harming her by over exhaustion, she wasn't suffering an injury, she was tiring out, and we'd be on top of her in a minute. The scabbard couldn't cure exhaustion, it wasn't a real injury. Still, would it be soon enough? The children had to be tiring, and my side was growing numb from the pain of my cut. We'd succumb to exhaustion soon as well.

A wild thought occurred to me and Fred executed it, not even blinking as he shot the spell. A jet of water hit Umbridge, causing her to slip in the dungbomb saturated ground, and fall on her back. Fred was on top of her in half a second, and I a second after him. We worked as one, him holding her down while I grabbed the scabbard.

"NOO!" she screamed as I grasped the scabbard to my chest, finally freeing it from her. Torry grabbed her wand from her limp hand and sprang back to Lux, and elated look on his face. Fred hit her firmly in the mouth, gripping his wand firmly in his hand before he snapped it back and stunned her. He tied her up in silver ropes before turning towards me.

"Think we'd get in trouble for a Crucio?" he asked, breathing hard. His lip was cut, his nose broken, and he had a nasty bruise forming on his forehead, but I'd never seen him look so handsome. He practically glowed with magic, his hair seeming to crackle with the power of it. I'd never seen him fight so hard or fast, it was incredible to behold and left me breathless with awe. I smiled softly at his comment, forcing myself not to smother his poor bleeding lip with passionate kisses.

The adrenaline in my system was making me feel shaky, but my side was no longer hurting. I looked down at it in surprise, seeing it completely healed. Oh, I forgot, I had the scabbard, I wouldn't have any injuries. I raised my head back up and smiled softly at Fred, thanking Merlin when I felt his joy returned. I'd never been that connected to Fred, it had been incredible, but extremely scary. I'd lost all sense of my individualism, we'd truly become one mind. He looked at me, knowing my thoughts and agreeing. I was immensely thankful he didn't shy away from our connection. The single mind had broken the minute he'd punched her, and I was worried the overwhelmingness it had caused would make him shy away from our bond.

Torry and Lux came up beside us, looking amazed and gleeful. "That," they said together, "Was the coolest thing ever!" I looked down at them in shock. We'd just fought for our lives, and they sounded like it had been a fun game. James, Alex, Alexa, Aurora, and Trevor came running through the woods, equally big smiles on their faces.

I waited till the approached us before I snatched them all up in a huge hug. "You all are grounded for the rest of your lives." I said, tears filling my eyes as I hugged each one to me.

"What?" they asked, their voices going high with shock. I shook my head and hugged them again. I'd get on to them later, right now I was just thankful they were alive.

Fred laughed softly, pulling Umbridge towards us. He grabbed my hand, smiling before turning towards the kids. "Come on guys, let's go take care of Harry." I nodded my head, grabbing his hand, and Torry.

"Everyone grab someone's hand." I said, making sure they did, once we were all connected I closed my eyes and apparated to the Burrow. We landed, and the children fell, still not used to apparating. They pulled us down with them, and we all ended up on a big pile of limbs. I untangled myself as quickly as possible, and stood, making sure that Umbridge was still bound and unconscious.

We'd landed in the living room, and I was surprised to see that everyone was still unconscious. A slight twinge of worry filled me, but Fred quickly shushed it with his mind.

_Let's try the Scabbard before we panic, we should start with Harry._

I nodded my head, stepping over the unconscious bodies on the ground, and making my way to the couch. I un hooked the belt from my waist, feeling drained suddenly. Fred was right beside me and caught me before I fell to the ground.

"Wow, didn't realize how tired I was." He smiled at me, and I once again had to fight the urge to snog him senseless.

I turned back towards Harry and clasped the belt around his waist, praying that this worked. If it didn't, I don't know what I'd do. The scabbard settled by his side, and then it started glowing, faintly at first, but then it grew brighter and brighter, before it enveloped him in its searing white light.

I covered my eyes, turning into Fred. He held onto me tightly, turning away from the light.

"Where am I?" a wonderfully familiar voice questioned. My legs gave out and I hung onto Fred desperately tears streaming down my face as I turned towards Harry. His face had regained its healthy vigor, no longer the deathly pale color it had been since the bite.

_Wow, this took me forever to get uploaded, I kept getting error messages... Sorry about the wait, I'll get the next chapter posted post haste. Thanks for your patience, and please leave a review, there the best!_


	19. Chapter 19

"Dad!" James yelled, running past me in a rush. He grabbed his dad in a fierce hug, tears filling his bright brown eyes. It was rather strange looking, as he was wearing Harry's invisibility cloak around his shoulders, so he was invisible from neck down.

"You're at the Burrow." Fred said, answering his earlier question. I couldn't because my throat was constricted and I was fighting not to cry in relief. I had been so afraid this wouldn't work, so afraid I would lose my best friend.

Harry was sitting up now, breathing normally and steadily. He held James to this chest tightly, comforting him with out even having to know what had happened. His eyes swept the room quickly, stopping at Ginny with a look of horror?

"What happened?" he asked softly, gripping James even tighter.

"We fought Umbridge da!" James exclaimed, his voice squeaky with excitement. Harry's eyes grew wide in shock and he turned towards Fred and me sharply.

"They did what?"

I narrowed my eyes and locked James in a stern stare. "They stole your cloak and hitched a ride with us when we apparated. They then fought even after I explicitly told them not to."

"Listen," Fred said, stepping forward with a worried look. "We'll explain everything later, right now, I need that scabbard so I can wake the others." Harry looked like he was going to argue until his eyes landed on Ginny again. he then reached down to his waist and unfastened his belt without another word, a worried look in his eyes. Fred snatched the scabbard and turned around sharply. In two quick steps he was by George's side, tying the belt around his twins waist with breathtaking gentleness. He leaned back on his haunches, staring at George's face with obvious worry. Alex and Alexa walked up behind him, grabbing Fred's arm in silent pleas for comfort. Fred grabbed them both in quick hugs, holding them to his side gently. A moment that seemed longer than eternity passed, and then George took in a deep breath, blinking his eyes open. Fred let out a choked breath, leaning down to his twin in a heartbeat, pulling him towards himself and the twins. "Georgie…" Fred gasped, tears filling his bright blue eyes. The emotion coming from Fred was incredible, he was so intensely worried, and so breathtakingly happy that he was alright, that I actually started crying.

George patted his brothers back awkwardly, hugging his children gently when he saw they were upset.

"What happened Freddie?" he asked, leaning back on his arms so he could look his twin in the eye. Lux and Torry walked up to my side quietly, looking unsure. I grabbed their hands gently, sending them reassuring smiles. George was their favorite uncle, little wonder with how much time we spent together. They smiled gratefully at me, and walked forward when I gave them a gentle nudge. I followed them to George, bending down and unclasping the scabbard while Fred explained.

I put it around Verity next, then Ginny, then Ron, Luna, Hannah, and finally Neville. I made sure Umbridge was still unconscious and firmly bound before we explained everything once again.

"So wait a minute," Ron said, after Fred tried to explain what happened again. "You two did what?" He asked, indicating me and Fred. I sighed, squeezing Fred's waist. we were sitting on the floor, Torry and Lux were beside me, and it was only their presence, and the other children, that didn't have me just apparating to the flat and having my wicked way with Fred. I felt like I was on some sort of high. Our bond was more intense than it had been before the battle, like it had felt when we'd just bonded, and it had me feeling, um, passionate. It didn't help that Fred felt the same way, his emotions were just heightening mine.

"Okay, our bond basically went into hyperdrive." I said, before beining interrupted yet again.

"Hyperdrive?" Ron asked.

"Bond?" Torry and Lux asked at the same time.

_Wow,_ Fred thought. _Have we really never told them about that?  
No_ I thought back. _We never really talk about it at all anymore. Everyone else know about it, we never have a reason to talk about it, plus, it is illegal._

_That's right…._

"It happened at the end of the war, sweetie." I said, trying to figure out how to explain this.

"Dad got hit by an exploding wall, and mom cast the spell to save him. It made it where we can read each others minds."

"Cool!" The kids all exclaimed. "Can we use it to?"

"No," Fred said quickly, having anticipated the reaction. "It's not actually legal. Mommy just used it because she didn't realize it was illegal."

_That's not true._

_Who cares? They'll believe it, you're not exactly the type of person to break the law._

I stuck my tongue out at him, causing the others to stare at us.

"That's why you always do that!" Torry said, sounding like he'd just solved some long running puzzle.

"You get this spacey look in your eyes and then you say or do things like you had a conversation, but you will not have said a thing to each other." Lux finished, his eyes growing wide with excitement.

"Umm, yes." I said, not really sure how to answer that.

"Is that why I can sometimes hear Lux's thoughts?" Torry asked.

"Really?" I asked, my interest piqued. "You can hear his thoughts?"

"Yep, when he's really worried, scared, or happy. He can do the same with me."

"Yes," Fred said, cutting in before I could speak. "I imagine it is. You have a bond because you're magical twins, all of us do." He said, nodding towards George, Alex, and Alexa. "But we can't hear each other's thoughts typically."

"Cool!" Lux exclaimed, high fiving Torry.

I laughed at them, leaning into Fred contentedly.

"Um, yeah, but what's a hyperdrive?" Ron asked, Harry and I just broke down laughing.

We spent the night at the Burrow, none of us wanted to leave just yet, and the children all wanted to spend another night together. It was rather late by the time we'd finally found a room though. Harry had immediately taken Umbridge to the Ministry of Magic, they locked her up in Azkaban again, this time in a cell with no doors, or windows. They cast a charm on her to alert us to the slightest magical interference, but I doubted she'd escaped. I believe it was Skeeter that got her out the first time. The only person to have ever escaped Azkaban was Sirius, and he'd had to be in his animagus form to do it. it made sense that Skeeter would betray us and free her, especially since she broke the fidelius charm. Harry agreed with me and set out several search parties for the little roach, informing them all of that dark secret.

Fred waited no time in putting the silencing charms up, good thing to, because I didn't intend on waiting time other. I attacked him in passionate hugs, needing to feel him against me as he pulled me to his chest in a tight hug. It was like he was trying to merge us together, and I loved the warm, protected feeling he gave me. I leaned up into him, deepening the kiss as he buried his hand in my hair. He pulled me to him and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He walked me backwards, still kissing deeply, to the bed, and lowered me onto it, still kissing me and holding me tightly.

I grasped his shirt, ripping it open before he quickly divested himself of it. I ran practiced hands over his chest, loving the hard planes I found. He pulled my own shirt off and ran his hands over me with equal knowledge.

BOOM!

I shrieked, pulling Fred down on top of me. He gripped me tightly to him, looking around the room in wild worry before his eyes stopped on the far corner. Someone had set off a whiz-bang rocket and it was going around the room, ricocheting off the walls.

Something's just never change.

_Okay guys, just an epilogue left... :( _

_These are all their kids, _

_Fred+Hermion= Castor and Pollux (boys age nine,, Rose (girl, age 7), Winnifred (girl age 5 ), Gideon (Boy age 2)_

_Ron+Luna= Aurora (gir 9l) Hugo (boy 5)_

_George+Verity= Alexa and Alex (girl and boy twins age nine), Fabian (boy age six), Jamie (Girl age 3)_

_Harry+Ginny= James (boy age 9), Albus (boy age 7), Lilly (girl age 5)_

_Neville+Hannah= Trevor (boy age 8), Anna (girl age 6), Cedric (boy age 4)_


	20. Epilogue: Pickup from Platform 9 34

"FRED GIDEON WEASLEY!" I screamed as I looked in the bathroom mirror. I felt a flash of fear from my husband and then a thunder of feet as he ran down the hall. A moment later he was by my side.

"What is it, Love-What happened?" He asked, letting out a loud laugh. I growled and pointed to my now flaming, fire engine, red hair.

"Are you trying to tell me that you didn't do this to me?"

"Umm, despite how bad this probably looks," Fred said, backing away nervously. "I did not actually do it. I wouldn't have been able to keep that thought secret. I haven't been able to prank you since we got bonded" I glared at him, rolling my eyes in annoyance. He was right, he'd tried to prank me several times, but he always got so excited about it that I found out. He couldn't keep those thoughts secret.

"Fine, if you didn't who did?"

"Torry and Lux?" He suggested, smiling slightly as he took a small step towards me. His innocent demeanor wasn't fooling me at all. I could tell how excited he was.

"They're still at Hogwarts, they won't be back for another two hours." I replied, feeling a slight thrill. This was the kids first year at Hogwarts, and I missed them like crazy. I couldn't believe they were actually old enough to leave me, to go to Hogwarts. I also had never had so many owls in my life. The two Gryffindors caused more trouble than their dad ever had. With Alex, Alexa, Aurora, James and Trevor, with them, Hogwarts was in a constant state of prank wars.

"Wait a minute, you knew about this!" I accused, setting my hair brush down and stepping up to my husband. "I heard that thought, you knew they were planning this!" A nervous grin found its way across my husband's face and he nodded his head.

"They sent it over last week. They were so excited about the prank that I couldn't not help them. Besides," he said, raising his hand and brushing my hair back with his long fingers, "you look really, really good in red." A shiver ran down my spine as he whispered the last word in my ear. He leaned back, smiling wickedly when he felt my desire through our bond. I wasn't alone though, he was equally excited.

"You know," he continued, pulling me into his warm arms. "We have another hour and a half before we need to head for platform 9 ¾. I'm sure if you put that beautiful brilliant mind of yours to it, you could think of something we could do."

"Oh yes, I'm sure I could." I whispered, leaning my face up to his. He met my lips in a heated kiss, pulling my teal robes off my shoulder with well practiced ease. He ran his hands up my side, cupping me in his large hands. I moaned into the kiss, breaking it off to pull his robes off. He helped me shed them and then tossed them in a corner as I pulled his shirt off. He pulled me back to him, both of us now divested of our shirts and resumed our passionate kiss.

_The kids…_ I thought hazily. What about Rose, Winnie and Gideon? We really wouldn't want them stepping in on us while we were, well, 'going at it.'

_George has em, thank Merlin._ Fred thought quickly, already walking me backwards towards the bedroom. A grin lit up my face and I let go of him, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the bedroom before shutting the door. We had an hour and a half, might as well make the most of it.

"Merlin's Beard!" Fred exclaimed from the bathroom, laughing loudly. I stood up from where I had been sitting on the bed putting my shoes back on and ran to the bathroom. Fred was standing in the same spot I had been standing earlier, with one obvious difference. His hair, instead of being its normal shade of red, was now a shimmering gold.

I laughed, I couldn't help it.

"Looks like the kids wanted us to sport Gryffindor colors." I said lightly, pulling my still red hair back into a loose bun. Fred just looked in the mirror, a grin quirking his lips up. He ran his fingers through his hair, checking the strands out.

"This was really well done." He said approvingly, a real smile lighting his face. "I didn't even use shampoo like you, I just brushed my hair."

"Sounds like something you'd have made." I said absentmindedly, putting my robe back on.

"They're really brilliant." Fred said approvingly, coming out of the bathroom and putting his robes back on.

"They're the evil little geniuses you said they were going to be." I told him, straightening my shirt.

"Are you wearing those teal robes?" Fred asked, another grin lifting his lips. I nodded my head before stopping.

"Oh god, it won't match my hair at all now." He nodded his head, laughing at my expression.

"There's only one thing to wear with that red." He told me, stepping towards me and waving his wand over my robes. They turned a bright, happy gold. He then waved his wand over his own robes and they turned into a vibrant red.

_Might as well go all the way Gryffindor_. He thought happily.

_Yeah, Roar, roar, Gryffindor!_ I thought, remembering our old cheer.

George, Verity, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Neville and Hannah and all the kids were with us on the platform, eagerly awaiting the return of our kids. I could hardly believe it was finally time for them to come home. It seemed like it had taken forever. Everyone had laughed when they saw our hair, and I found myself smiling in delight when I saw each of the other parents sporting something Gryffindor. Harry's scar had turned Gold, and a matching red one had formed on the other side of his forehead. Ginny's freckles had all turned gold, matching her red hair. George had turned completely gold, while Verity's eyes had changed colors- one was red the other gold. Ron Had turned red, which looked extremely funny with his red hair and brown freckles. Luna's hair, while still blond, had turned the texture of a lions mane, sprouting out around her entire face.

Needless to say, we received several looks going to the platform. I actually had to place notice me not charms on us till we could get on the secret platform. The other parents all laughed, several of them transfiguring their hair, clothes, or eyes to match their own children's houses. We probably looked like some crazy costume party waiting for our children. Merlin only knows what they thought when the pulled up in the train.

James was the first off the train, he let out a loud, boyish laugh and ran for his dad. Hugging him in open arms and laughing his head off at the scars. Torry and Lux came off next, and Fred and I ran up to them, encasing them in strong arms.

"You two are in so much trouble when you get home!" I admonished, smiling in spite of myself. They didn't look the least bit scared, grinning unashamedly as they followed us off the platform with the others.

We left the platform together, safe, happy, and forever connected. Time had more than proven that we, Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Verity, Neville, Hannah, all of us, had a bond that nothing could break. A friendship that would never die, a love that would never dwindle, a simple unity that astounded others and left us breathless with its intensity. We were one family, regardless of whether or not we were actually related. Our bond had been forged through fire, and god help the person who thought they could break it.

Because Merlin knows thats the only way they would survive.

_A/N: First off, a huge resounding Sorry! I totally forgot that I hadn't posted this, I wrote it last month! Thanks everyone who has stayed with me through this story, I had a ball writing both Forbidden Bond and Legends. I'm currently writing a George/Hermione fic, but I already have another idea for a Fred/Hermione fic that I'll be working on soon. Lots of love to all of you and thanks for making this such a fun ride. Thanks for all the reviews and keep them coming! You guys were the best, and you have no idea how much your reviews meant and mean to me._


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